co-in-ci-dence n. 1. The state or fact of coinciding. 2. An accidental sequence of events that appear to have a causal relationship.
hmmmm... as the character Wil in the Celestine Prophecy said, "I don't think anything happens by coincidence." My main problem with the definition of coincidence is the word 'accidental'. Each person's life is constantly moving and changing, offering us opportunities for growth and connection with each other. When my path crosses with someone else's I feel it is no 'accident', rather an opportunity for growth - however momentary or long lived.
The Skeptic
I can remember a billboard from my youth. It was for an automobile wreckyard alongside the highway between my hometown and Indianapolis. It read, "Wrecks, we meet by accident." Pretty clever advertising.
A few years ago I learned to surf the web and navigate the Internet. I was constantly fascinated with the amount of information and interaction one could have by simply logging on. Besides greatly expanding the amount of research I could do in a day, it also put me in touch with new acquaintances around the world.
One evening I happened upon an English literature chat area sponsored by University. I also met up with someone else who was visiting there for the first time. We chatted a while and found we had similar interests and enjoyed each other's conversation. I commented that it seemed extraordinary to me that we should cross paths at that moment in time. He played the skeptic and prattled on about chaos and probability and 'accidents'.
Somehow, I think his mind has changed over the past few years. We have been friends all of this time, and no matter how far apart we move from one another in distance, we continue to see one another through many life changes. He even introduced me to my husband and spiritual partner! There have simply been too many connections between us for our meeting to be attributed to coincidence.
How Do I Embrace Synchronicity?
Some people take the opposite role from the skeptic and spend all of their energy seeking 'connections' between anything and everything. I'll admit, it is an easy habit to fall into when you are desperately searching for meaning in your life. However, there are ways to embrace synchronicity without going overboard.
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