Leave room for the improbable

Four decades ago, two baby girls were born in India and adopted by different families in the Netherlands. They grew up only hours apart, unaware of each other's existence.

Then, as teenagers, Meena and Minal happened to attend the same event for adoptees. Friends noticed their uncanny resemblance. The girls saw it, too -- the same eyes, the same nose -- and felt an immediate connection.

They exchanged contact information and kept in touch for a while, but eventually life intervened. They lost contact, started families, and nearly three decades passed. Then, separately, both women took DNA heritage tests.

What did the tests reveal?

✨3 Ideas

1. Don’t confuse unlikely with impossible

We’ve all experienced things that once seemed extraordinarily improbable. Then, an opportunity appears from nowhere. Badly needed support arrives unexpectedly. A chance encounter becomes one of the most important relationships in our lives.

They remind us that life contains possibilities beyond those we can presently see. The point isn’t that these things will happen. It’s that our soul knows that they can. 

Recognizing that the future may hold more than we can presently imagine opens us to wonder, surprise, and possibility.

2. We know less than we think

We tend to make predictions based on what we see. Nothing has changed in years, so nothing will. There’s no apparent path forward, so we conclude there isn’t one.

But predictions have a way of hardening into certainties. “I don’t see how” isn’t the same thing as “It can’t happen.”

Classic wisdom reminds us that even when circumstances appear final, possibilities may remain hidden from view.

3. You never know what you’re capable of

We often make predictions about ourselves. I’m too old. I’ve never been good at that. That’s just not who I am. What sounds like facts may actually be predictions.

We underestimate not only what life can bring us. We underestimate what life can bring out of us. 

Intelligent optimism means leaving room to discover what we may be capable of -- not insisting we can accomplish anything. The soul is always capable of growth.

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📜2 Quotes

“The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all.”
— Ecclesiastes 9:11

“Listen to the mustn’s, child. Listen to the…won’ts…then listen close to me…Anything can happen, child. Anything can be.”
— Shel Silverstein

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❓1 Question

Is there a relationship in your life you’ve accepted as it is, even though you wish it could be warmer or closer?

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The DNA tests revealed something extraordinary: there was a 100% probability that Meena and Minal were sisters. The two women who had met by chance as teenagers, grown up only hours apart, and then lost touch for nearly three decades were full biological sisters.

And there was one more remarkable piece to the story. When they first met as teenagers, Meena and Minal had talked about how wonderful it would be if they were sisters.

Twenty-eight years later, they discovered they were. You never know! 

Until next time,
Wishing you a week of discovering -- and pursuing -- unexpected possibilities,

Rabbi Ze'ev Smason

P.S. What have you accomplished in life that your 20-year-old self wouldn’t have believed was probable -- or even possible? I’d love to hear about it.

P.P.S. Have you read Spiritual Sparks: A Reader? I’d be grateful if you’d consider leaving a brief review on Amazon. Reviews help others discover the book -- and perhaps find a little more meaning, purpose, and joy in their lives. —> Amazon