Synchronicity and the Giant Purple Balloon

Synchronicity

It is astonishing how many surprises a person can come across when wandering.  From unique structures, to bizarre animal behaviors to interesting items left out in the wilderness.  But every now and then you stumble across something so extraordinary, so outside of any sort of expectation that you know it is truly a once in a life time experience.

So much is the strange timing of it, that you realize that if you hadn’t stepped into this window somehow, you would have missed it all together.  For that window is short and it’s opening narrow. And it makes you wonder….

About Synchronicity

Synchronicity is a concept first brought into the modern zeitgeist by one of the founding fathers of psychodynamic therapy, Carl Gustav Jung. (c. 1875 – 1961) He later developed this idea with in collaboration with physicist and Nobel laureate Wolfgang Pauli, culminating in a work entitled the Pauli–Jung conjecture.

Carl Jung
Carl Gustav Jung

Jung and Pauli defined synchronicity in several different ways, but the one that I find most resonant is this one which defines synchronicity as; “an acausal connecting principle”, “acausal parallelism“, and as the “meaningful coincidence of two or more events where something other than the probability of chance is involved”.(Jung, Carl G. [1951] 2005. “Synchronicity“. Pp. 91–98 in Jung on Synchronicity and the Paranormal, edited by R. Main. London: Taylor & Francis.)

The Giant Purple Balloon

On a gloomy overcast afternoon in early March of last year, my youngest daughter,  Sienna, and I were both feeling a little sludgy, stuck in the dull drums between late winter and spring in a state that I refer to as being in the “ humpty dumps.”  To pick up our spirits, we decided to climb up a mountain, which is almost always my go to remedy, of course!

It was getting on towards evening so we decided to hike up a familiar pathway leading north above a natural sink, known as Johnson’s Hole.  There we secured ourselves on a rock that overlooks the canyon gates. 

To the west, the valley spills out; a once high desert wilderness, now become a river of industry fanning out into a wide delta of human habitation until it meets the shores of Utah Lake, where nature once again commands the scene.

Provo Canyon
The Canyon Gates, Provo, Canyon.

Beyond the western shore, the sun, a giant salmon eye, had begun it’s downward dive, setting the lake on fire in it’s ember glow.

Tranquil for a moment, we sat in silence, as we often do when in this beautiful place. Suddenly, however, Sienna jumped up and pointed towards the crest of the hole.

“What is that”? she cried.

As the evening was darkening it took me a minute to adjust and focus my eyes.  Finally I registered a large round object rising out of the depression like some specter summoned by the sweeping skirts of night.

Floating about 6 feet above ground a huge purple orb glided towards our general direction.  The nature of it was so surreal that for a moment I couldn’t think of the word for ‘ floating ball thing .’

My daughter jumped up and started running down the slope towards the object, which was traveling, now at some good speed.

“It’s a balloon!” I finally managed, fully realizing that it was already evident to my daughter who was closing in on it before it slipped over the sharp eastward cliff edge.

The balloon was fast, but Sienna was faster!  And quick as she is, she snapped up the ribbon to which it was attached just before our UFO reached the point of no return.

IT…WAS…HUGE!!!!

This was no ordinary latex birthday blow up…no average Joe Blow escaped from the confines of some pop up wedding arch.  Nope.  This was giant purple people eating meter wide helium powered machine!

Giant Purple Balloon
Giant Purple Balloon

We both laughed until our sides felt to bursting with disbelief.

Our balloon friend came home with us that day.  It took up residence in our living room, until it decided to play a roll it was a natural for, as a unique birthday party gift, complete with added one eye.

To this day it remains a big question mark, however. The origin story of this strange entity. 

The where, why and how did it find itself floating freely in a canyon miles from it’s natural habitat; car lot or real estate display.  Late winter is a bit cold and early for a festival fugitive.

How it did not get tangled or punctured in the more than capable arms of the gamble oak thickets that are abundant in this landscape, we will never know.

Yet, somehow on March, 4, 2021, precisely around 6:15 p.m. Sienna and I just happened to be in the right place, at the right time, to quite literally catch it.

Needless to say, the ” humpty dumps ” dissipated that day.  And soon enough, spring arrived, bringing with it a renewed sense of energy for all living creatures, lifting the whole of us upwards and outwards from the dragging pall of winter’s coat tail.

Deer in Johnson's Hole
Deer Crossing Johnson’s Hole, January 2022

As I write this, we have just barely stepped out onto the icy bank of the cold and dark season.

It is good to think back and remember that day in March of last year.

To remember that life can surprise us.

To know that sometimes things happen without having any rational reason to them.  And yet, being without reason, it inversely increases in significance.  And in so doing can, suddenly, hold all the meaning in the world.  Who knew it could come in the form of a giant purple balloon?

As always, feel free to leave a comment or relevant question and join in on this conversation below.  Also, don’t forget to subscribe, to be notified each time a blog or podcast is posted to this site.  Thank you so much for stopping by and for reading.

Happy Wandering…

*( This blog post is lovingly dedicated to my dad, who asked me last august, when I was going to write about the purple balloon.  Well, now I have, and so I did. I hope you enjoy it, dad.  Likewise I hope everyone else who might read this blog will too ). 

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Author: Juni-Jen

I have been an aspiring writer since first grade, and a true wanderer since birth, often getting lost in grocery and department stores, no doubt giving my poor mom lots of early silver threads. A mom to two beautiful human beings,myself, I am also a dancer, certified trauma and ashtanga based yoga instructor, free lance artist and owner of a face/body painting business, and unabashed dreamer. I'm an eternal enthusiast of all things out of doors, lover of the leafed, furred, scaled, feathered, earthen, rock and sky peoples. I bend my ear, and heart and soul to listen to their wisdom. We are so infinitely and intimately connected with and to these beings on this beautiful planet, Mother Earth. From her we are born and to her we return and are born again. Feathers and bones, flowers and stones, turning, turning, returning.

8 thoughts on “Synchronicity and the Giant Purple Balloon”

  1. I remember that day very well. It brought a smile to me just hearing about it and seeing the pictures. Love the color (royalty), and the shape (symbol of the Self); couldn’t help but wax a bit Jungy after reading your post.

  2. Hiya, I am really glad I’ve found this info. Nowadays bloggers publish only about gossips and web and this is actually irritating. A good site with exciting content, this is what I need. Thanks for keeping this site, I’ll be visiting it. Do you do newsletters? Can’t find it.

    1. Thank you for your kind comment, and I am glad you are enjoying this blog. I don’t currently send out a newsletter but you can subscribe to the blog and everytime I publish you will get a notification in your email. If you scroll down through my site you will find a button that says subscribe. First, type in your email and then hit it.

      Thanks again!
      Juni-Jen

  3. You could definitely see your skills within the paintings you write. The world hopes for even more passionate writers like you who aren’t afraid to mention how they believe. At all times go after your heart.

  4. Thanks for your marvelous posting! I definitely enjoyed reading it, you will be a great author.I will be sure to bookmark your blog and may come back later on. I want to encourage that you continue your great work, have a nice afternoon!

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