One Lucky Soul: Beautiful Things Happen When You Are In Sync With The Universe

Beautiful Things Happen When You Are In Sync With The Universe by Omar Cherif, One Lucky Soul

[Historical Note: This piece was originally written and published on 24th August 2016.]

A couple of days ago the below transpired and I shared it on my Facebook wall.

“An amazing thing just happened. I went to Marina's Ralphs to get wine but couldn’t find what I was looking for, so I bought a bottle of vodka. Since I wasn’t planning to buy anything other than the wine, which was going to be carried in their wine bag, I didn't bring my reusable grocery bag as I usually do, and was given a normal brown one.

Once home I got the bag out of the bike’s basket before it suddenly tore and the bottle dropped to the ground, shattering into a million little pieces. One of the flying shards somehow caught my foot, and it began bleeding. This may be the second or third time in my entire life to drop a bottle of booze and break it, so naturally I was bummed.

Ten minutes later, I decided to forget about it and go buy another one. Back to Ralphs this time with a bag, I grabbed a new one and headed to the cashier. As I was waiting in line, I glanced at the cashier to my right and found it was Sandy, a sweet 60-something black lady who works there. Needing to vent a little, I told her the whole tragic story and showed her the tiny cut on my foot.

She asked if the bottle was sealed as it happened, to which I said yes. She then took the new bottle and my Ralphs loyalty card, and told me to wait. I had absolutely no idea what she could possibly do about it.

A minute later, she walked back, slid the new bottle into a complimentary, colourful reusable bag, and simply handed it to me.

Happily surprised, I exclaimed: “Really? Waow.”

“You said the brown bag tore.”

“Yes, and there was nothing else inside it.”

“I asked my boss and he said it's alright.”

“You know, tomorrow is actually my birthday,” I smilingly told her. “So thank you for that lovely gift,”

“God Bless you,” she replied.

It’s certainly not just about the $22, which in situation helps a whole lot, but it’s all about the gesture.

Happy Birthday to me and thank you, Sandy. Cheers.

Bluetiful Birthday Blueprint:
Blue Skyy, Blue bag, and a broken-bottle battle scar leaving me not blue

After this uplifting encounter, night fell, and I ordered a pizza online from the local Italian place, C & O Cucina. When I went to pick it up. Nikolai, the assistant manager — who’s deeply fascinated by the Pyramids and ancient cultures — was standing right there behind the counter, as he usually is after 8:00 PM.

While I waited for my order, I decided to share the story of Sandy and the vodka with him. Note that for someone who lives alone in his head as I am, human interaction is vital. Writing isn’t enough for this storyteller. Sometimes can’t help but blurt out random stories and daily happenings and silly jokes — to pretty much anyone who would listen.

There were two servers standing near him at the time, a guy and a girl in their early twenties. I could tell they were eager to listen; they kept pretending to polish glasses or arrange a nearby shelf just to linger within earshot. When I finished the story, Nikolai nodded, agreeing that good people truly do exist.

He then mentioned that, for some reason, the ‘system’ hadn’t charge me for the extra pizza toppings (onions and olives) and they couldn’t modify the receipt now. He asked if I happen to have two dollars. I offered to be back in a couple of minutes as I live right there atm the Jolly Rogers. He just looked at me, smiled, and said: “I got you, man. Don’t worry about it. Happy birthday.”

  Oh thank you, Brother. What a magnanimous pre-birthday that is.   

— ☙ ❊ ❧ —— ☙ ❊ ❧ —— ☙ ❊ ❧ —

Yesterday things got even weirder. Since it was finally THE day, my 39th, I decided to pamper myself with a sushi dinner. I went down to the beach for a sunset meditation session, which is where I snapped the featured photo among others. Once back home, I placed the order at the spot right across the street and walked over to pick it up.

Right next to the sushi joint sits a cosy little wine bar called South End. I had checked it out a few times from the outside and think I went in once for an afternoon drink with someone a couple of years back. But despite living only a minute away, I had never returned.

As I stood waiting for my sushi, a beautiful girl walked into the bar, and the faint sound of live music drifted out the door. I glanced over at David, who was standing behind the sushi counter, but my food wasn’t quite ready yet, so I figured, why not go in for a quick glass of wine? It’s my birthday, after all. 

I pushed open the door and spoke to a friendly guy at the front, explaining that I lived just across the street but had never actually been inside. I told him that since it was my birthday, I was stopping by to celebrate with a single glass of rosé. He kindly wished me a Happy Birthday and told me to sit wherever I liked. The place was bustling with people eating and drinking, and a guy with a guitar was singing live.

I took a seat right next to the musician just as the wine was served. All in all, I stayed for maybe a little over ten minutes, clapping through two songs before heading to the bar to settle up. I asked the smiling, cheerful waitress for the check, but she seemed new to the place and took a couple of minutes to sort it out. Right then, the manager I had spoken to earlier stepped up. He simply handed my debit card back to me, saying “Happy Birthday” once again. I thanked him warmly, promised I’d be back soon, shared a quick smile and a fist-bump with the guitarist, and walked out.

Right then and there as I was picking up the sushi, all three situations came flooding back into my mind. I truly couldn’t believe that these highly synchronistic events had unfolded in such a remarkably short window of time.

Not only did I receive 22 + 2 + 12/13 = $ 36 from mere strangers, but I also realised that with these recent “meaningful coincidences” the universe is offering me a subtle form of inner guidance. It was showing me, in its own quite way, that I am indeed exactly where I need to be.

Shine On.

— ☙ ❊ ❧ —— ☙ ❊ ❧ —— ☙ ❊ ❧ —

EDIT — July 2026:

L.A is known for alienating and devouring people. It is a city designed for isolation, where Americans themselves pack up and flee after a year or three. Yet there I was, celebrating my 39th birthday completely alone, navigating the sprawl in what is technically my third language, and hunting for micro-doses of human connection in the everyday mundane... and finding them.

Ten years ago in August 2016, I originally published this heartwarming forgotten article, shared it once here on Facebook, then filed away as “too simple” or too much of “a Dear Diary” entry to ever re-share. In fact, I was just reminded of it recently through A Dollar & Thirty Four Cents in Me Pocket and Feeling Fine — as part of the few “financial adventures” in Chronicling The Journey, along with Give That Man Some Groceries and The Joy of Being a Wanderer and the Credit Card Number.

Looking back at it today, I realise this hyper-detailed journal wasn’t just a clinical breakdown of a series of bizarrely synchronised encounters. It is the account of a man collecting data on human warmth; it reads like a survival record, a vital field guide from my decade-long journey — a reminder of how this storyteller was looking for connection as well as for intimacy in the simplest interactions. It seems like it was my way to conquer the solitude, making that wacky city feel a little more like home.

The final consensus? Humanity still breathes in the cracks of these spellbindingly beautiful lands. Orenda — oʊrɛndə.

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