2021-07-28

Fate and Coincidence: two threads weaving into the map of life. 

Have you ever thought about why things that happen to us happen to us? Are there orders to our lives? or if everything chance?

The fantastic film Benjamin Button reveals a curious case----ages in reverse. This phenomenon turns Benjamin into a timepiece that affects the clock of his life---seeing him grow younger while everyone around him grows older. However, this story casts light on the ever-changing life we are experiencing in reality and evokes an in-depth contemplation on how life is. 

Fate and coincidence are two dominant factors for the curious case of Benjamin. These two words: fate and coincidence are defined as "an inevitable and often adverse outcome" and "the occurrence of events that happen at the same time by accident" respectively. 

Not only outlining Benjamin's life experiences, but these two factors also affect our lives. Just as Benjamin monologues in the film: "chances change the track of life, including the missing ones." Often we see chances as something to grasp while ignoring those that slip away from the gaps between fingers. Hence, chances do not account for the progress of life. But it is the way they connect that maps our lives. 

This is how coincidence comes to be the matter. It is not a vague account of unusual events. But it depicts the ecology of life. Rather than being irrelated events, occurrences are widely associated with one another. Take Benjamin's case for instance. The fact that Benjamin is abandoned on the porch of the retirement home should have nothing to do with his encounter with Daisy---his adulthood lover. These two seemingly irrelative events turn out to be inextricably associated. Just because we failed to catch the whole picture of life does not mean that they are irrelative. 

Fate, on the other hand, is a revelation of the connections. However, the nature of fate is variable based on different times and scenarios. In Benjamin's case, Daisy's tragic incident might seem to have ruined her career. But it results in the reunion of Benjamin and her and therefore renders them a happy couple.  

Therefore, life consists of well-planned events that progress on the track of what we call coincidence. And it unfolds slowly through fate.