What are the chances?

By Loraine Debnam

I have once again been reminded of why I am a firm believer in the old saying, “things happen for a reason.”
I had a lunch date with a friend recently. Since she had been away, I was looking forward to a lengthy visit to catch up on her travels and her family news.
Sometimes these lunches can span a couple of hours, as we chat about the happenings in our lives (and those of our grandkids). However, she had an appointment, so we wrapped things up much earlier than we normally do.
When I came home, I noticed my elderly neighbour standing in her front yard looking very distressed. She too had been out and had lost her keys somewhere during her trip.
Her closest neighbours (who have an extra key) were not at home and she has no cellphone. Thankfully, I was able to lend her mine, so she could call her son who came promptly to let her in and deal with the ramifications of the lost item.
If my lunch had not been shortened, she may have stood out there for a very long time.
I recognize there are some skeptics who would say this was just a “lucky accident,” but apparently there is more to it than that.
Although it’s hard to capture in specific data, researchers have been working on theories that the human brain is hardwired to connect things in a meaningful way.
Researchers believe we use instinctive laws of probability to drive new learning and understanding. We connect events creatively even when they are not based on logic or predictability.
Science writer Matt Hutson reports, “these connections suggest a feeling of destiny that can be good for us mentally.”
Seemingly, it reinforces a sense there is a deeper order to things for those who have a talent for noticing what we label as coincidences.
Author Isaac Asimov said, “people are entirely too disbelieving in coincidences and far too ready to dismiss them.”
There are so many synonyms and related words in our language that it makes a person wonder if perhaps he isn’t correct in his statement.
Synchronicity, happenstance, luck, serendipity and flukes are all used to describe a collection of unrelated incidents which have a great deal of meaning for one observer while another would see no significance or importance in these happenings.
For myself, I agree with lecturer Deepak Chopra who said we should live our lives, “with an appreciation of coincidences which help us to connect with the field of infinite possibilities.”
Being open to those new “possibilities” can bring a sense of unity and connectedness with the universe.
I don’t want to spend every day carefully sifting, weighing, classifying and selecting to make scientific logic of all the occurrences. There is not always a linear cause and effect.
Unanticipated random happenings often bond an external event with an internal event giving meaning and significance, which is strictly on a personal level.
I don’t want to be in charge of everything that happens, making the assumption I always know what my path is in this life.
Seeing things from new perspectives helps us stay curious, resilient and full of wonder.