Simple Abundance Magic!

I took a class from Susannah Conway on Journaling. One of the guest instructors was Meghan Genge, and in her interview, she mentioned a book called Simple Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnach. Admittedly, I’m still learning how to say her last name. I wanted to check out the book because Meghan discussed the idea presented in the book of an Illustrated Discovery Journal, which is a book of cultivated magazine cutouts that inspired her to create the life she wanted. I found a digital copy of the book some days later, but it never really fit. Recently, the book crossed my path again, and I thought I’d give it another go.

I found a copy at the library. That’s when I learned there were two editions printed: the original version from 1995 and a more recent edition which had been modified.

• This new edition was lacking the signature ribbon to keep your place. Simple Abundance is a book with 360+ essays so having a nice bookmark to keep your place is handy. I know I could have put my own bookmark in the book, but something about it made it more personalized with that ribbon.
• The newer version also has a different introduction. After I got my hands on the previous edition, I found I preferred the 1995 introduction. It seemed more in touch with the spirit of the book as it was written.

So I went on the hunt to get my own copy. All I could find was the new version at the local used shop to independent bookstore to online retailer. Every time I went looking at a store, I was asked by the shop owner, if I wanted them to order it. When I went to my favorite used book store in SF, Green Apple Books, they asked the same question and my thought was, well, if the universe is meant for me to have it, then I’ll find it, in the original version, used and reasonably priced.

Wouldn’t you know it, some weeks later, I found just that – the exact edition, pre-owned, in really good condition, and it was only $5! And to make it even more special, there was a name in the front cover, presumably of the previous owner, and it was the same name as one of my relatives! If that’s not magical and a sign that book was meant for me, then I don’t know what is. 🙂

Have you ever had an experience where something or someone found its way to you? A book, a song, an experience – right as you needed or wanted it to, or maybe even after you asked for it to appear? I’d love to hear your stories.