Happy Accidents

I've recently been thinking about coincidences. I first started thinking about their importance today, as I was gliding, tires slick with rain, onto Sunrise Highway, merging from Nicolls Road South. I was thinking about accidents, specifically car accidents, train accidents, any form of crash. Probably not the best thing to be thinking about while driving. However, an accident is effectively a coincidence; it is something that, who knows, maybe was--or was not--planned in the pre-destination of a life. One wrong move could lead to an accident and all accounts of one's future could be changed, altered by a split-second decision or indecision to jerk left...or right.

I got to thinking about this idea of a coincidence. Is it an act of fate? Are all accidents, coincidences, surprises pre-determined? Are they supposed to happen? Maybe we should pay more attention to them if that's the case.

I remember reading The Celestine Prophecy a few years ago. James Redfield's novel focuses on coincidences as being the first of nine insights into achieving a fulfilling life. This first insight entails consciousness of the coincidences in our lives. Coincidences that build up supposedly lead us to a higher path.

I've always been cognizant of the coincidences in my life. I remember when I was reading the book, I got an image in my head of the mother of one of my friends from elementary school. I remembered Mrs. Peters, my friend Amy, Amy's 6th birthday party at their house, and fondly reflected on how her mother was a good person. The next day, Mrs. Peters, who I hadn't seen in probably a decade or so, showed up at the Italian Ice store where I was working. I don't know the meaning attributed to that coincidence; it may just have been to prove to me that they do exist, and that I shouldn't let them go unnoticed.

I think for too long a time I have ignored the power of coincidence.

As Bob Ross said, "We don't make mistakes here, just happy accidents."