Who sent the Ants?

Some friends of mine decided to sell their house, and found a buyer.

- Alan Cohen

On the day before the sale was to close, they walked into their living room to find a wall covered with carpenter ants. The couple had never seen such ants in the house before, and had no idea where they came from. In integrity, they disclosed the discovery to the buyer, who cancelled the sale. At that point my friends realized they did not really want to sell the house, and they kept it. The next day the ants disappeared and they never saw them again. That was 20 years ago. They are still living in the house and loving it.

The ants were dispatched by a brilliant creative organization called the “C.C.C.C.”—the Cosmic Coincidence Control Center. This is the agency behind synchronicity, a term coined by psychologist Carl Jung, indicating “a meaningful coincidence.” Jung defined the principle after he conducted a psychotherapy session with a woman who reported she had had a dream of a golden scarab (beetle). At that very moment a golden scarab flew into the room, capturing Jung’s attention and the patient’s. That type of beetle was very rare in that region, and it was out of season. The chances of such an insect entering that space at the precise moment they were discussing it were infinitesimal.

Synchronicity is always working on our behalf, but we are only occasionally aware of it.