Coincidence: Fact or Fiction

Coincidence: Fact or Fiction


“Coincidence: a striking occurrence of two or more events

at one time apparently by mere chance.”
Dictionary.com

Do you believe in coincidence? For me, this question used to be a whispered admission that bordered on a confession; the password into a world of fascinating conversation.

You’ve experienced coincidences. You’re in a down mood on a cloudy morning and you look  up and see a patch of blue in the sky that is in the shape of a heart. Coincidence? A song pops into your head whose lyrics seem to have a timely message for you. Mere chance?

Let’s get this out of the way from the start: I don’t believe in coincidence. I don’t believe that any event is a random occurrence so how could I possible accept that two seemingly separate occurrences happening at the same time could be random? I can’t.

Besides, how can I believe in coincidence when things like this happen.

My husband and I were at a red light in traffic when a guy in a truck next to us says, “I have a windshield for your car!” We drive a 1973 BMW which just happened to have a crack in the windshield. Although we had numerous car parts in our garage, we didn’t have a spare windshield. The guy could not have seen the crack from his position in traffic yet there he was; offering an unlikely solution to perfect strangers. We pulled over and exchanged phone numbers.

That was only the beginning of the coincidence. Time passed and the guy hadn’t called to confirm that his windshield was a fit for our car. My husband was anxious to replace our windshield so he asked me for the guy’s phone number. This began a long and frustrating search for that piece of paper with the phone number.

As we were tearing the house apart we were interrupted by a phone call from a customer looking for my calligraphy services.  I arranged an appointment, hung up and continued my to search.

Finally we found the phone number and my husband made the call. When the guy answered the phone he said, “I just called there,”.  He had  recognized our business name on his call display. He was the guy who had called about calligraphy!

I love “coincidences”. They’re part of what makes life magical. Do you believe in coincidence? If you do, please share one or two you’ve experienced. If you don’t believe in coincidence, does that mean you believe in “mere chance”?

photo credit: Me! Could I make this stuff up?

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About The Author


I have always loved writing and community building. I’ve written a book about healing and happiness, The Happy Place, as well as a Community Building book, Sounding the Drum: Community Building in the Digital Age,both available at any Amazon store. I’ve been through life changes that I thought were the end of my world, but I’m still here. You never know what will happen next. Isn’t that what makes life interesting?