Serendipity

I've been told on a number of occasions that I bare a resemblance to John Cusack. He happens to be one of my favorite actors...maybe I'm a little vain. He's been in from of my favorite movies. Some of them are a little more on the 'weird' side than others.

About 5-6 years ago I saw the movie Serendipity for the first time. Out of curiosity, I looked up the etymology of the word serendipity. I always assumed it to be coterminous with the words fate and destiny. It turns out it's has a separate meaning. Perhaps that is why it was chosen as the name of the film.

The basic idea is that when we are in search of something we discover something entirely different...accidental discoveries.

In the movie Jonathan Trager is already in a committed relationship as is the girl he meets, Sara Thomas. At the end of a wonderful evening together, Jonathan suggests that they exchange phone numbers...Sara instead decides to leave everything up to 'fate'. She explains that if they are meant to be together they will find their way back into one another's life.

Neither one of them was looking for love they 'accidentaly discovered' it.

What is the correlation between seredipity and destiny? Is there one at all.

I spoke at length tonight with a friend who had come across three 'coincidences' this weekend that made him question the reason for those coincidences. Since similar thoughts had been on my mind this weekend, I asked him what he thought of them. I asked him if he attributed those coincidences to fate or destiny. He said, 'I believe we make our own fate, and choose our own destiny.' That sounds like a contradiction. Isn't it something that is determined for us? If it is determined for us who is it that makes those things happen?

If it's not fate or destiny...does everything really happen for a reason? If it does, it would be important to us to find out what that reason is but how do we do it? I certainly have my own thoughts and opinions but I will reserve those for now.