This is Lunacy (Port Douglas, Australia)
In some recent journal articles I mentioned a few coincidences that have been occurring. Well - I’ve “suffered” a whole slew of them recently. The amount of coincidences in such a short time are bordering on lunacy. Here is a quick recap:
#1) 1st American met on Australian soil is from Kirkland, WA. Where I "live" now in the US.
#2) In Darwin bumped into 2 travelers that I met on the tour bus up to NW Australia. I bumped into them on a sidewalk.
– and the most recent ones:
#3) Leaving Darwin in the morning I bumped into a German who I briefly met when we shared the same dorm room in Exmouth (NW Australia). We were on the same airport shuttle bus and flight to Cairns. We shared a room at the Cairns’ Serpent Hostel for two nights. I didn't remember until he jogged my memory when he mentioned a German player on the Seattle Supersonics basketball team.
In Cairns - while waiting for the hostel bus to pick us up and take us from the city back to the hostel
#4) We met another German waiting for the bus - which is no big deal. But, he is from the same town as the German I was rooming with (Coincidences happen to other people around me).
#5) And really improbable...while waiting..I bumped into the Italian couple from my snake and turtle hunting trip in Kakadu National Park. I knew they were going to Cairns...that is all. What are the odds? Cairns is small, but not that small! 110,000 people. They were the only other people on that trip to Kakadu with me.
as if that wasn't enough...at the hostel the following day...
#6) I bumped into 4 British girls that I played pool with at a pub in Exmouth (A really small town). We were practically the only ones in the pub that night...a couple of others - that is it. Exmouth is a long way from Cairns. On the opposite side of the country. There are ALOT of hostels (20+) in Cairns. Why we happened to be at the same one I don't know. aiieee!!! I might have bumped into them in Townsville further south if I didn't cancel that city on my list. That is where they are headed.
Some of these are more “probable.” As a traveler in a country with such few major tourist cities I would actually expect a few of these now and again....but the number right now is just outrageous!
#7 Another coincidence for others..while watching a World Cup Rugby game on TV...the Irish group sitting in front of me saw one of their friends on the television!
Now if I meet anyone from Australia in Asia I'm going to jump out of a plane and see what happens!
So...why do I mention this...other than to humor you? One of my goals my traveling is to definitively answer in my mind to 99% certainty (For me) whether there is any supernatural (For nature as we know it - maybe coincidences are a part of nature? Yeah...that’s it) force - God(s) or otherwise in this world. I used to believe there was a God, now I am on the track of not believing in anything. But, this “coincidence thing” keeps bothering me. Some people have 1or 2 coincidences in their life and their believers of whatever faith comes their way. I’m not that easy. Some have even started entire religions based on a few coincidences probably. There is even a book on coincidences and faith - though I have not read it yet. I should.
I have so many unlikely ones that maybe I’m on the wrong track again. Maybe there is something. So I’m going to use the “coincidence thing” as the answer to the question itself. I will travel to many spiritual places of many religions, and non-religious spiritual places, etc... I figure if there is such a force I will by “coincidence” meet it or know it. I don’t like the know it though. It is too easy to be fooled by feelings (Fear, etc...) and/or strange natural phenomenon with logical explanations. I am the skeptic here. So I will rely more / exclusively on the meet it. Of course this force(s) would have to demonstrate to me in some convincing fashion that it indeed was some sort of controlling powerful force. Giving me superpowers would be nice. What that demonstration is I don’t know. I’ll know it when I see / hear / touch it. If I don’t have any such “coincidence” then I will believe in nothing - end of story/theme. That is how I will live my life with no doubt unless something spectacular happens later. I will have made a serious effort at questioning it. To be clear - my definition of God does not include any of the human flesh variety!
More on this later I’m sure. Maybe I’ll write a book on this.
#1) 1st American met on Australian soil is from Kirkland, WA. Where I "live" now in the US.
#2) In Darwin bumped into 2 travelers that I met on the tour bus up to NW Australia. I bumped into them on a sidewalk.
– and the most recent ones:
#3) Leaving Darwin in the morning I bumped into a German who I briefly met when we shared the same dorm room in Exmouth (NW Australia). We were on the same airport shuttle bus and flight to Cairns. We shared a room at the Cairns’ Serpent Hostel for two nights. I didn't remember until he jogged my memory when he mentioned a German player on the Seattle Supersonics basketball team.
In Cairns - while waiting for the hostel bus to pick us up and take us from the city back to the hostel
#4) We met another German waiting for the bus - which is no big deal. But, he is from the same town as the German I was rooming with (Coincidences happen to other people around me).
#5) And really improbable...while waiting..I bumped into the Italian couple from my snake and turtle hunting trip in Kakadu National Park. I knew they were going to Cairns...that is all. What are the odds? Cairns is small, but not that small! 110,000 people. They were the only other people on that trip to Kakadu with me.
as if that wasn't enough...at the hostel the following day...
#6) I bumped into 4 British girls that I played pool with at a pub in Exmouth (A really small town). We were practically the only ones in the pub that night...a couple of others - that is it. Exmouth is a long way from Cairns. On the opposite side of the country. There are ALOT of hostels (20+) in Cairns. Why we happened to be at the same one I don't know. aiieee!!! I might have bumped into them in Townsville further south if I didn't cancel that city on my list. That is where they are headed.
Some of these are more “probable.” As a traveler in a country with such few major tourist cities I would actually expect a few of these now and again....but the number right now is just outrageous!
#7 Another coincidence for others..while watching a World Cup Rugby game on TV...the Irish group sitting in front of me saw one of their friends on the television!
Now if I meet anyone from Australia in Asia I'm going to jump out of a plane and see what happens!
So...why do I mention this...other than to humor you? One of my goals my traveling is to definitively answer in my mind to 99% certainty (For me) whether there is any supernatural (For nature as we know it - maybe coincidences are a part of nature? Yeah...that’s it) force - God(s) or otherwise in this world. I used to believe there was a God, now I am on the track of not believing in anything. But, this “coincidence thing” keeps bothering me. Some people have 1or 2 coincidences in their life and their believers of whatever faith comes their way. I’m not that easy. Some have even started entire religions based on a few coincidences probably. There is even a book on coincidences and faith - though I have not read it yet. I should.
I have so many unlikely ones that maybe I’m on the wrong track again. Maybe there is something. So I’m going to use the “coincidence thing” as the answer to the question itself. I will travel to many spiritual places of many religions, and non-religious spiritual places, etc... I figure if there is such a force I will by “coincidence” meet it or know it. I don’t like the know it though. It is too easy to be fooled by feelings (Fear, etc...) and/or strange natural phenomenon with logical explanations. I am the skeptic here. So I will rely more / exclusively on the meet it. Of course this force(s) would have to demonstrate to me in some convincing fashion that it indeed was some sort of controlling powerful force. Giving me superpowers would be nice. What that demonstration is I don’t know. I’ll know it when I see / hear / touch it. If I don’t have any such “coincidence” then I will believe in nothing - end of story/theme. That is how I will live my life with no doubt unless something spectacular happens later. I will have made a serious effort at questioning it. To be clear - my definition of God does not include any of the human flesh variety!
More on this later I’m sure. Maybe I’ll write a book on this.
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