Pennies, Nickels, Dimes, and Quarters

One of those strange little things just happened to me. Last Saturday I attended a Chinese New Year celebration at which all the guests received a red envelope with gold calligraphy, containing a dime and eight pennies. A traditional good-luck gift, I was told.

Well, I figured, what do I need eighteen cents for? So I decided to throw them on the ground somewhere where someone, maybe a child or a homeless person, would find them. This afternoon I did that, picking a nice green place on a walking path. I added all the small change that was in my pocket at the time, so it might have totaled sixty or seventy-five cents.

Tonight, on leaving tai chi class, I went to my parked car and, looking down in the dark, saw four quarters shining on the ground beneath the driver’s door. Prudent about such discoveries, I picked them up and put them in my pocket.

Good luck had circled back to me.

I know I didn’t have any change in my pants this evenings, so the quarters had not dropped from my own pocket. And I’m pretty sure they weren’t on the ground when I first parked in that space and shut the door.

Coincidence? Of course. But what else was it?

I’m looking at a rocking-chair moon as I think about this. I’m thinking I want to keep it going: give away a little bit more.