I agree with Little Hawk. It's impossible to say where any of us would be without the trail of events, encounters and choices made by us or imposed upon us all through our lives. Years ago, when I was bewailing something that had not happened, that I had been wanting to happen, a friend said to me: "You never know what you have been saved from" - and she's right.

Carpe diem - seize the day. Life and the living of it keeps teaching that, day by day. There have been times when I have been awake to opportunities and have taken them, and times when I haven't and could afterwards have kicked myself. The great thing, though, is that with another day comes another opportunity to seize it.

I don't know if anyone else has found this in their life, but opportunities that I didn't seize, or hoped-for or planned-for things that events and circumstances conspired against happening at a particular time sometimes have the uncanny knack of surprisingly popping up over the horizon maybe decades later. Then, and only then, do I fully realize that way back then just wasn't the right time or the right place, but my instinct for yearning for them was correct.

I do think that some things in life may be more random because they actually make less difference to the progress of the human soul, but others, which the individual soul needs and craves to happen, in order to progress, just *have* to occur - in the soul's timing, and not the mind's timing.

Sorry to be so philsophical in my answer, but it's something that, as I've got older and gone through the many twists, turns and apparent "chance" circumstances of life, I do think about quite a bit.

- jeanie