Holding On To Circumstance

Amidst our constant connection to others, we’re missing out on the present.

Amidst our constant connection to others, we’re missing out on the present.

Personally, I’ve always been a huge fan of the power of coincidence. Running into a long lost friend in the airport; or passing an old teacher from grade school on the street - these circumstantial interactions have worked wonders for me.

In one case, I am especially indebted to a circumstantial conversation between two women in a nail salon, both of whom consequently still use old flip cell phones and neither of whom are on Facebook. They had nothing to do while waiting for their nails to dry, and so they started talking.

One mentions she knows a “nice young man” in NYC who had recently graduated from Cornell - and is single. The other woman mentions her daughter, a woman who had also recently graduated from Cornell - and is also single. So, they decided to fix them up.

I’m especially fortunate for this, because I was the young man, and that’s how I met my wife, Erica. I wonder: If these women had smartphones and…