Coincidence and the part it just played in my life.

My day job when I am not hanging out on ATS is Principal UC Engineer for a large health care institution which basically means I get to make cool Cisco Collaboration items (voice and video) work with a Nortel CS2100 or other voice infrastructures.

Today I just had an issue occur which made me think of the movie Signs along with conspiracy mind belief of "no such thing as a coincidence" ...



Our Cisco account team does a great job of sending me new collab gear , sometimes at my request and sometimes on their own, because of who we are. So roughly 2 years ago I got this 10 inch control panel unexpectedly. At the time I didn't have a need for it so rather than return it I just put it away in our storage closet.

Fast forward to this morning.

In working on a new room based telepresence unit a few settings got wiped out which removed web access. Your choices are plugging it into a local switch , crossover cable or using one of the 10 inch control panels. Which triggered in my mind, "hey I have one of those in storage from a few years ago" Sure enough I grabbed it, set it up, resolved settings issues and the telepresence unit is back online.

That leads me to the philosophical part of my post. Im a skeptic on most things because at this point in my life, if its not binary and i cant clearly see it or read irrefutable proof of something then I dont assume something new agey. So the question becomes....

1. Coincidence that I received that unexpected 10 inch control panel 2 years ago so i would have it for exactly when I needed it this morning?
2. Something else took place which allowed me to have that unit when i needed it this morning.

For me I go with answer 1 but I am interested to see what people here think...

a reply to: opethPA

Coincidences are hard to disbelieve in our culture. I had some troubles too, untill by multiply occasion coincidences saved me from sensitive situations (direct harm, imprisonment, etc.) If your life does not get as vivid as a crazy dream at some occasion, I know its not easy to see how he bakes potatoes.

a reply to: opethPA

As they said in Signs "Is it possible there are no coincidences?" Everything that happens in our lives, happens for a reason, good or bad. Everything is predetermined. The choices we make, what we term "free will" are already planned. The choices we make were programmed in us from birth.

Glad things worked out for you.

a reply to: opethPA

I would go with the fact that you, as a user of these devices, realise that one day "this might come in handy" and go from there.

a reply to: opethPA

It's just a coincidence

Look at it logically, why would an outside force create a problem to which you had been given the solution to the problem 2 years ago ?

I mean if you're going to cause a problem knowing the problem will be fixed straight away then what's the point in creating the problem at all ?

Logic and Fantasy rarely work well together

So you saved something you thought might come in handy some day, and it did. How many other things have you packed away and never used? I was in IT for many years and did not throw any tool away. I still have RS-232C cables, gender benders, switches, patch cords, and even a fully functioning FidoNet BBS on a hard card that has an ISA buss. Us pack rats keep everything, and if once in awhile something is of use, that's not a "coincidence" at all. We planned on that eventuality. As a binary engineering-type person I'm surprised you would come to that conclusion. You're spending to much time on ATS and it has affected your mind!

Im with all the people that are claiming it is just coincidence based on my choice number 1 though I attribute any thought I might not be to my being hungry..because i was too busy fixing this ..to eat..which lead me to be cloudy in my wording...

coincidence??? LOL!

a reply to: opethPA

It hardly even matches the fun of a coincedence.

You had a piece of equipment related to your work, and made use of it. Yeah that's the stuff of legend alright.

originally posted by: NarcolepticBuddha
a reply to: opethPA

It hardly even matches the fun of a coincedence.

You had a piece of equipment related to your work, and made use of it. Yeah that's the stuff of legend alright.

Eh the coincidence for me is that it was just a random piece of gear that showed up for me two years ago and I just filed it away..

Since I believe in coincidences it wasn't a big thing to me but im sure their are some people here that would see it as mystical.

originally posted by: opethPA

originally posted by: NarcolepticBuddha
a reply to: opethPA

It hardly even matches the fun of a coincedence.

You had a piece of equipment related to your work, and made use of it. Yeah that's the stuff of legend alright.

Eh the coincidence for me is that it was just a random piece of gear that showed up for me two years ago and I just filed it away..

Since I believe in coincidences it wasn't a big thing to me but im sure their are some people here that would see it as mystical.

The best thing about this is that you were able to resolve a problem due to you making a decision in the past. One could almost say that you predicted it.

Enjoy the result, it isn't always the journey that matters, but the steps one takes.

a reply to: UnBreakable

If everything is predetermined and programmed into us; why? What would be the point, or desired outcome of that?

a reply to: opethPA

Coincidences do not exist.

originally posted by: paperdoll
a reply to: UnBreakable

If everything is predetermined and programmed into us; why? What would be the point, or desired outcome of that?

They are only predetermined by us and our choices and vibration.

The universe uniquely conforms to each paradigms vibration.