Take the words -happen- and -circumstances-, and you have « happenstance ». Or the art of being in the right place at the right time.
Do you remember what it was like the day you met her/him? It was raining. You missed the bus. So you were going to be late. All of this without any umbrella. And all of a sudden, she/he cames out, and welcomes you under her/his umbrella. Then into her/his life.
Or do you remember the day you decided to walk to your brother’s for once and found a $10 bill on the sidewalk? Or the day you were turned down for the job you though it was your dream one. To finally find your true dream job a few days later.
This phenomenon is called: Happenstance. When you think about it, we realize beautiful and good moments of our lives are based on situations in which we were simply in the right place at the right time.
« Unexpected discoveries, singular encounters, troubling coincidences: during our lives, the essential often happens by chance. » says, the author of La puissance discrète du hasard Denis Grozdanovitch.
Well, that would be too simple if we’d stick to it. Each of these moments tends to show us an opportunity. Free to us to seize it or not. Then does the notion of chance really exist? It would seem intuition and chance are at the crossroads. And what is the substance that goes throught both? Time…
Photo crédit: Kristopher Roller, Unsplash