Date: 3/14/2024
Coincidence. How many of us have had experiences that we could not explain, that occurred without our planning or “hit” us as an unexpected occurrence in our life? Merriam Webster defines coincidence “as the act or condition of coinciding or the occurrence of events that happen by accident but seem to have some connection.” Cambridge Dictionary states that a coincidence is “an occasion when two or more similar things happen at the same time, especially in a way that is unlikely and surprising.” Regardless as to how we define it, all of us have found ourselves in a situation where our only response is to say, that was just a coincidence.
I might ask you to consider several questions, how many times in your life were you experiencing a difficulty that you seemed to have no way of coping with, and then someone, or something enters your life, and assists you in finding a direction that lifts you and presents you with a new and positive direction? Or when was the last time you were away from home and unexpectedly ran into an old friend or a former classmate? Some might say that it was “coincidental” that this person or event entered your life just when you had no solution for your problems, or that meeting your old classmate was just by chance. Other might say that “sometimes a coincidence is no coincidence at all, but a purposeful action in disguise,” or that “coincidence is the word we use when we can’t see the pulleys and the levers.”
These are but a few of the occasions when we might find ourselves attributing something to coincidence, but we really need to ask ourselves the question, do these events happen by chance or is there some mystical or religious force at play in each of these scenarios. Albert Einstein, an intellectual who looked at everything from a scientific standpoint stated that “coincidence is God’s way of staying anonymous.” I guess the answer to that question all depends on an individual’s makeup; do you attribute these events in your life to “accident,” or do you believe there is an underlying reason for those events we label as a coincidence.
Next time an event occurs or you run into an old friend, give some thought to the following: is it just a coincidence, or was this a result of some force in nature. As I end, I’ll leave you with a short story that while it is meant to be humorous, has a lesson that speaks to coincidence and how we live our lives.
“Two babies were born on the same day, at the same hospital. They lay there and looked at each other. Their families came and took them away. Eighty years later, by a bizarre coincidence, they lay in the same hospital, on their death beds next to each other. One of them looked at the other and said, so what do you think?” - Steven Wright