A gymnasts head seems to be missing
Everyone talks about them, but what actually qualifies as a “coincidence?”
According to Wikipedia:
“Coincidence is the noteworthy alignment of two or more events or circumstances without obvious causal connection. The word is derived from the Latin co- (“in”, “with”, “together”) and incidere (“to fall on”); in the more literal translation coincidence can be used to describe the order of events as observed but without explanation of causal connection; the recorded order of facts.
Fascinating.
Another shot gives a man an extremely long arm
There is also such thing as “coincidence photography,” which is when a photograph seems to capture the impossible, usually because of depth perception or camera angle. The gymnast and soccer player are examples.
In my case, I’ve had two little “messages from the world” recently that strike me as oddly (but pleasantly) timed. All related to my “Life To Do List!”
As you avid readers may know, two items on my to-do list involve me re-watching and re-reading some of the classic Documentary Films and Classic Novels I visited as an adolescent. The goal here is to refresh my “artistic well” and observe my reactions to these stories with new eyes.
The first “co-inky-dink” occurred a couple weeks ago when I re-watched “Hearts and Minds,” The Academy-Award winning documentary film from 1974 about the Vietnam War. Often listed as one of the top five documentaries of all time, I of course watched it while in Film School. I remember leaving the theater because I was so upset at one particular part in the film. You can see from the trailer that it’s not an easy film:
The walkout is only relevant because it prevented me from watching the film for weeks. You see, when I created the “Life To Do List” and added the documentary film item, I almost dreaded re-watching this film. War time. Brutal death scenes. I knew it was full of heavy material that wouldn’t sit well. I checked the film out a number of times and had to pay late fees because I kept avoiding actually putting the disk in the DVD player.
Finally, my BFF and I sat down with a glass of wine to watch the film. I had a pen and paper in hand and observed the various camera shots that the editors spliced together to make their wordless commentary on the War. The cinematography and editing were once again striking.
The coincidental part of the story is that just days after re-watching the film, there was a Newsweek article about it. Some 35 years after the film won the Academy Award, NEWSWEEK’s Jennie Yabroff spoke to director Peter Davis about his film’s lasting relevance and about it’s impending re-release. Literally DAYS after I had just re-watched it, the film was featured. I’d had the film in my possession for weeks and only finally tuned in the week of it’s anniversary re-release. Weird.
Now that isn’t that HUGE of a coincidence, I know. But timed with the second item I am going to discuss, it seems all too oddly timed. Another item on my “Life To Do List” includes reading (and re-reading) some of the classic novels. I’ve already re-visited Pride and Prejudice, Catcher in the Rye, To Kill a Mockingbird, and most recently, Wuthering Heights.
In my blog entry about “To Kill A Mockingbird,” I spoke about the importance of re-reading these important novels. As you grow older, the story says something very different to you. I advocated for reconnecting to books many of us just read because we had to in High School.
While I am visiting my folks up in Northern California this week, I visited their library. One section of this library contains all the books I read in High School, many of which are my reading list. I pulled five books from the library, including George Orwell’s “Animal Farm.”
The random ad that showed up
Then today, as I was looking at one of my favorite websites, I noticed the following ad:
Crazy, huh? Now tell me that isn’t a co-inky-dink!
Some people think that coincidences are messages. In the Matrix, a “deja vu” meant a glitch in the system. Regardless, the very occurrence of these odd moments forces a pause for reflection.
In my case, I am going to absorb these occurrences as messages that I am doing what I am suppose to be doing. Both circumstances served as a sort of “pat on the back” to me that revisiting these incredibly stories will serve me well.
While doing some research for this blog entry, I also came across this fun blog entry about the “20 most amazing Coincidences.” Definitely worth a read. I love the very idea that as big as the world is, odd and uncommon timing can be extremely entertaining.
In my case, I’m off to read “Animal Farm.”
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