Coincidence

I have often been heard to remark that I don't believe in coincidences. As if it's a belief system with complex rituals and multiple deities. That's not what I mean, and if I share the dictionary meaning with you, perhaps the muddy shall become clear. A sequence of events that although accidental seems to have been planned or arranged. So what I mean is that while coinciding events may not be neatly planned or arranged, maybe there's more to it. I think part of it has to do with point of view. That when you gain knowledge of say, a particular species of bird or make and model of car, there aren't suddenly more of those birds or cars around to be observed. Your awareness of their existence has been heightened. You've learned something that alters your point of view. The other aspect has to do with another sort of growth altogether. It has more to do with spiritual awareness and a greater ability to see patterns or similarities. And not just in the present, but also looking back. And for the most intuitive among us even what lies ahead. Is it a mere coincidence that in the fall of 1979 that I totaled my car, my apartment flooded and I got involved with Steve? I don't think so! Could it be coincidence that I get involved with Rapid City, Libra musicians who are ultimately unavailable to me? Hah! Which makes me think about how insanity is defined by doing the same thing over and over again with the expectation of a different result. Recognizing your own negative behavior and making an attempt to change it is a monumentally difficult thing for humans to do. If you can identify and face up to the challenge this sort of observation presents and be better for it, you've moved up a rung or two on the evolutionary ladder. At this point in my life I believe it is no coincidence that I have become more thoughtful about such things. I have declared since childhood that I have every intention of living to be 100 years old. If indeed that comes to pass, I have used just slightly over half of my time here. And there are so many things I still want to do! Get that novel published and make my living as a writer. Be a grandmother. Note to sons: the directly previous experience can wait several years! Put a million miles on my new blue Subaru. Find the soulmate for this era of my life and fall in love again. I resolve for this second half of my life to always be curious, laugh every day, and sing and dance even if people might be looking. Good things come in threes. And that is no coincidence.