CHAPTER II
COINCIDENCE IS GOD’S WAY OF STAYING ANONYMOUS
IT IS TEMPTING TO BELIEVE THAT EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON. IT SOOTHES US IN TIMES OF CHAOS. IT MAKES THE UNBEARABLE FEEL BEARABLE. BUT IS IT TRUE? DOES THE UNIVERSE REALLY HAVE A PLAN, OR ARE WE SIMPLY WEAVING STORIES OUT OF RANDOMNESS?
THIS IS WHERE THE IDEA OF SYNCHRONICITY, OR “MEANINGFUL COINCIDENCE,” ENTERS. CARL JUNG DESCRIBED THESE MOMENTS AS INSTANCES WHEN THE INNER WORLD MEETS THE OUTER WORLD IN A WAY THAT FEELS IMPOSSIBLY PERFECT. YOU THINK OF A FRIEND AND THEY CALL. YOU MISS A TRAIN AND MEET SOMEONE WHO CHANGES YOUR LIFE. SCIENCE MAY CALL IT PATTERN RECOGNITION. THE SOUL CALLS IT FATE.
THE TRUTH IS THAT OUR BRAINS ARE WIRED TO SEARCH FOR MEANING. WE ARE STORYTELLING CREATURES. WHEN SOMETHING FEELS TOO PRECISE TO BE RANDOM, WE THREAD IT INTO THE NARRATIVE OF OUR LIVES. SOME CALL IT CONFIRMATION BIAS. OTHERS CALL IT DESTINY. PERHAPS BOTH ARE TRUE.
THE BEAUTY IS THAT THE POWER DOESN’T LIE IN WHETHER THE EVENT WAS “REAL” OR RANDOM. THE POWER LIES IN HOW WE INTERPRET IT. A LOST JOB CAN BE A CURSE OR AN OPENING. A BREAKUP CAN BE A COLLAPSE OR A REBIRTH. COGNITIVE REFRAMING—THE ACT OF SEEING THE SAME MOMENT THROUGH A DIFFERENT LENS—IS WHAT TURNS CHAOS INTO POSSIBILITY.
POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY SHOWS THAT PEOPLE WHO REFRAME THEIR STRUGGLES EXPERIENCE MORE GROWTH, RESILIENCE, AND GRATITUDE. THEY FIND SERENDIPITY WHERE OTHERS SEE MISFORTUNE. THEY TRUST THAT LIFE IS NOT HAPPENING TO THEM BUT FOR THEM.
LOOK AT J.K. ROWLING. REJECTION AFTER REJECTION COULD HAVE BEEN THE END OF HER STORY. INSTEAD, IT BECAME THE BEGINNING. THE IDEA FOR HARRY POTTER ARRIVED ON A TRAIN SHE ALMOST DIDN’T TAKE. WAS IT RANDOM? OR WAS IT THE UNIVERSE MOVING QUIETLY, ANONYMOUSLY, THROUGH HER LIFE?
SERENDIPITY IS NOT JUST LUCK. IT IS A STATE OF BEING. IT IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU REMAIN OPEN, CURIOUS, AND WILLING TO SEE OPPORTUNITY WHERE OTHERS SEE FAILURE. THE MORE YOU LIVE IN THAT STATE, THE MORE “COINCIDENCES” YOU WILL FIND.
SO MAYBE EVERYTHING DOESN’T HAPPEN FOR A REASON. MAYBE IT HAPPENS FOR A RESPONSE. OUR RESPONSE. OUR CHOICE TO SEE CHAOS AS ORDER. OUR WILLINGNESS TO TRUST THE INVISIBLE HAND THAT MOVES THROUGH OUR DAYS.
AND MAYBE, JUST MAYBE, COINCIDENCE IS NOT RANDOM AT ALL. MAYBE IT IS GOD’S WAY OF STAYING ANONYMOUS.