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inspiration
are charged with learning to identify 198 plants among other requirements. “Of the five students that have gone on to take the exam, all have successfully passed to earn a certificate,” Guy reports. “Three have gone on to obtain jobs in the horticulture industry!” He’s currently assisting two more students interested in earning the FNGLA certificate. Many other benefits are available through the therapeutic horticulture sessions, such as intellectual stimulation, improved confidence and respite and relaxation. “When working with someone with Parkinson’s disease, for example, you’re working to maintain their physical function and design activities for that [goal],” Diehl explains. She notes that participants combating cancer gravitate toward plant crafts as a form of creative expression, and patients battling addiction mostly crave the calming tasks within the greenhouse. Wilmot Botanical Gardens welcomes volunteers interested in maintaining the garden and supporting the participants. For those interested in studying therapeutic horticulture, the UF Department of Environmental Horticulture offers an undergraduate certificate in horticultural therapy. Open to UF students as well as non-degree-seeking pupils, this threecourse curriculum is online only and accredited by AHTA. Wilmot Botanical Gardens is located at 2023 Mowry Rd., in Gainesville. Visit Wilmot.med.ufl.edu.
LIVING IN SYNCHRONICITY
The Power of Meaningful Coincidence
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by Meg Lundstrom
hen we have an inner need that converges with an outside event, it is a meaningful coincidence known as synchronicity, and it happens to us all. It can be simple, like a playful sprite: recurring numbers or dates, all the lights turning green as we race to meet an appointment or a call from a faraway friend just when we want to talk to them. Or it can be profound: a chance meeting with an employer looking for exactly our skills, unexpected money appearing when we’re in a pinch, a timely rescue or our grandmother’s favorite, obscure song coming on the radio or app just as we’re feeling teary-eyed on the anniversary of her death. Whether they are lighthearted or life-changing, synchronicities link us to an underlying order in the universe that is profoundly reassuring. They open us to mystery and delight. They give us a sense of being taken care of. They nudge us to grow in scary, but life-affirming directions. They awaken a sense of awe, which studies have shown to be the emotion most likely to make us reach out generously to others—and that evokes even more synchronicity. And they can make daily life a lark. By its very nature, we can’t create synchronicity, but we can live life in a way that encourages it to show up. The more
engaged we are spiritually—whether that means prayer, meditation, walking in nature or loving others deeply—the more likely synchronicity is. Being open, selfhonest, courageous, engaged, grateful and fully present summons it, which is where therapy, yoga and bodywork can be useful. But we don’t have to be saintly or enlightened; synchronicity is there for us all. It is simply the way the Universe works. The first step is to notice synchronicity when it occurs, and honor it. As with humans, when we give it our attention and say thank you, it makes it more likely to show up in our life again. At some point as our trust builds, synchronicity becomes simply the way our life works. Things show up as we need them and we are in the right place at the right time. Even when occurrences seemingly go awry, we glimpse an underlying order that gives us strength and purpose. Life becomes a steady stream of meaningfulness and inner and outer exploration. We find ourselves living in flow, attuned to life’s deepest currents and awash in deep gratitude. Meg Lundstrom is the co-author with Charlene Belitz of The Power of Flow: Practical Ways to Transform Your Life with Meaningful Coincidence. Connect at FlowPower.com. March 2020
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