What Is A Coincidence?

Have you ever wondered?

Last week you received Hello Universe on a Monday instead of a Tuesday. The reason behind this scheduling mistake was simple - I forgot to check a box!

The handy Substack “Schedule” feature that I forgot to use last week.

You see, I was expecting last Tuesday to be a hectic day. Thus, I figured, writing the post on Monday and scheduling for Tuesday would work just fine. But out of habit, I just went ahead and published the post instead of scheduling it like I’d planned. Silly me.

Ten minutes later, I looked at the date. Monday, 5th June 2023. And then suddenly it struck me - one year ago, on Sunday, 5th June 2022, I had done the same thing - published Hello Universe out of schedule!

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That was the day when I had just reached Berlin and was totally out of sync with time - and somehow I just sent that edition out on 5th June. And now, I’ve done it again. What a coincidence.

Thus, today’s poem is about coincidences, and what they mean to me.

I’m curious to know - what was the most memorable coincidence that you have experienced? Before you read today’s poem, drop me a short, one line answer. You can also consider sharing your thoughts as a comment. I reply to comments with a mini poem, so today might be your turn! 😀

Alright, poem starts in 3… 2… 1!

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Say, what is a coincidence,
is it a stroke of fate?
An instance when the universe
reveals its hidden state?
🤔

Now, what is a coincidence?
Is it a happenstance?
An incident that takes place
only by a glimpse of chance?
🎲

I've found a few, I've felt a few,
I've seen some in my time.
They've come to me in various shapes,
some awkward, some sublime.
👀

And all of these coincidences
taught me to surmise.
That life isn't hard-coded
to be orderly and nice!
⭐️

It's all its imperfections
and coincidences that
make life so entertaining and 
prevent it from being flat.
📈

So come with me to say out loud
this unambiguous gist.
Coincidences are life's most
extraordinary gifts!
🎁

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That’s it! Thanks for reading edition no. 115 of Hello Universe!

Check out Some Fun Stuff below!

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Some Fun Stuff

1. Read “Dear Reader, I’m Lost” by Rebecca Holden: Rebecca’s Substack is one of those rare gems that nourishes your spirit. She shares fun, meaningful stories and experiences from her life. The writing is mature, thoughtful, and still somehow light and enjoyable in spirit. My face lights up every Saturday when I wake up and I see her newsletter in my inbox, because I know it will start my weekend with positive vibes.

61. Pride comes before a fall

She has a delightful community of readers who are super engaged and leave thoughtful comments on each post. I encourage you to be a part of that community and enrich your reading library by subscribing to “Dear Reader, I’m Lost”.

2. Listen to “Chirpsichord” by Kelpe: A bright and shiny track full of tiny sparkles. I’ve got it on repeat!

3. Watch this live performance of my poems from my birthday party: If you’ve read this far, you’re a super engaged reader, and my sincere thanks for your love. You may remember how my 31st birthday party was a celebration of talents, from poetry to music to illustrations to dance.

Here’s a short video of my performance from that night, narrating 3 poems that I’ve written and published here on Hello Universe. I don’t do many live narrations of my poems, and this was a gratifying experience, so I hope to share some more narrations with you as time goes by.

Let me know how you like my performance in the comments below!

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That’s it for this week, see you next Tuesday!