Sychronicity?

I recently stumbled across a book called The Best Buddhist Writing 2007 edited by Melvin McLeod. What's interesting is that I was actually searching the online library catalog for Robert Wagner's memoir Pieces of My Heart. I had heard him discussing his book on Charlie Rose and, being a lover of old Hollywood memoirs, I thought it sounded intriguing.

If you believe in synchronicity, The Best Buddhist Writing appeared right under the search result for Robert Wagner's book, which was, according to the results, on the shelf on the fourth floor of the library. I briefly glanced at the title of the Buddhism book and thought, I should read that book sometime. Well as luck would have it, I got to the library and couldn't find the Wagner book even with the librarian's assistance. She said some books just go missing in action sometimes and I said rather cheekily, "Does that mean one of the other librarians is reading it?" and she said, "Oh no. We check out books just like you do. It could have been misshelved, or be lying on a table somewhere." So I digress, but suffice it to say, we didn't find the book so she put it on hold for me if and when it does turn up.

Well of course I didn't want to leave the library empty handed so I decided to find the Buddhism book and I did. Recently, I've been having a hard time falling asleep; a couple of nights ago, I started thumbing through the book and discovered an essay by Pema Chodron, the Buddhist nun who narrates two CDs (When Things Fall Apart) that my oldest sister in CO sent me a few years back when I was going through a particularly trying time. I started thinking, hmm this is interesting and read her essay finding it even more enlightening than the CDs had been, because she explained certain Buddhist concepts in more detail. Then I found an essay by a woman who had eloped at 16 to marry Pema Chodron's spiritual teacher, the highly regarded Tibetan Lama, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. I remembered Chodron discussing Rinpoche's teaching on the CDs, including his detailed instructions for meditation.

I found myself reading more essays that helped me to better understand some of the questions that I've had about Buddhism over the years. A brief caveat: I realize that Buddhism is a ancient religion that scholars and practitioners study for years. In no way, can reading a book teach all you need to know about Buddhism; I have barely scratched the surface, but I am always searching for answers and knowledge about topics that interest me and these essays were comforting to read as well as enlightening.

I also really liked an essay called Our True Home by Thich Nat Hanh. I've included a passage here:

Did you know you had a true home? This question touches everybody. Even if you have the feeling that you don't belong to any land, to any country, to any geographical spot, to any cultural heritage, or to any particular ethnic group, you have a true home...your true home is the here and now. It is not limited by time, space, nationality or race. Your true home is not an abstract idea. It is something you can touch and live in every moment. With mindfulness and concentration, the energies of the Buddha, you can find your true home in the full relaxation of your mind and body in the present moment. No one can take it away from you. Other people can occupy your country, they can even put you in prison, but they cannot take away your true home and your freedom.