Wow, 250 - very insightful post!
I don't believe in fate, but like 250 I believe that people view things as fate if that is what they think is the driving force.
Coincidence is very common really, it's just that we only see those events that affect us directly in a noticeable way, like Ziroc's story. There may be a thousand coincidences that happen to us each and every day which we don't notice because they don't seem important.
I do have a nice little story about coincidence though - a pleasant one, in a kind of 'every cloud has a silver lining' way.
I was at my uncle's funeral a few weeks ago, a very sad occasion. He died unexpectedly in his mid-fifties. We were in the waiting room, when a woman who had been my best friend when I was about 10 walked in. I hadn't even set eyes on her in 10 years, but often wondered how she was and how we managed to lose contact.
I wasn't aware of any reason why she should even know my uncle, let alone be at his funeral.
It turned out that she had started a dog-grooming business in the village where my uncle & aunt lived, and my aunt had been taking her little dog to be trimmed by my old schoolfriend on a monthly basis for the last 3 years! They had become very good friends in that time.
It still leaves me speechless when I think about it.
Just coincidence though, not fate
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Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so.
Epona of The Laughing Hyenas
Proud winner of the 'Most Useless Post 250 Has Ever Seen' Award 2001. "I'd just like to thank my friends and family, without whom none of this would have been possible..."