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J.T. Murphy's avatar

I felt reassured as I read your beautiful piece, Carina. I believe our souls are drawn to others who share our mindsets and energy. Why else would there be so many choices that others find as appealing as we do? My husband and I were in several places at the same time earlier in our lives. We were born on different continents and still found our way to each other. When we met, there was an instant sense of having known each other before. If that’s not in-yeon then I should be the poster child for randomness.

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Carina's avatar

Wow, that's amazing! I love that. And I agree with you, if that's not in-yeon then I don't know what is. How did you find out you had been at the same place at the same time?

I've heard someone say similar things before, that it wasn't necessarily love at first sight but more of a recognision, like "oh, there you are, I've been looking for you". I'm actually trying to write an essay about this topic too at the moment, some sort of continuation of this one. If you have any wise words, let me know :)

What a beautiful comment, J.T. – thank you so much!!

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J.T. Murphy's avatar

We talked about vacations we had taken and discovered there was some overlap. I was a campus tour guide and he visited my school when I was working. He mentioned stopping by the information booth. I may have been staffing it then. There were a couple of other instances like that.

I have friends I remember noticing before we actually met face to face. One had a small part in a musical that enjoyed. We talked about it later.

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Carina's avatar

Ah I love that!

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moonlover's avatar

i have believed in destiny, and in faith my whole life. the idea of the invisible string theory somehow strikes a magical light in the deep corners of my heart. i look at the sky every few days, and immerse the pure and raw beauty of existence. i imagine that whenever my head is up high looking at the sky, sometimes with the company of clouds and sometimes with starts, my soulmate is also looking at the exact same sky at the exact same moment.

so, i wanted to say thank you for this beautiful piece, carina. it made me remember to feel hopeful about my future, by reminding my impatient soul that the people who will love me so deeply, so from the depths of their hearts, are mostly people i haven’t even met yet. but who knows? maybe we swam in the same sea, got bathed by the sun at the same hour, maybe even said the exact same word or read the exact same book at the same exact hour. who knows? thats the beauty of life after all. the not knowing and never being sure of it all. maybe we all met our soulmates already. who knows? i guess what we will do is, we will wait, have faith in time, and when the time comes, we will see:)

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Carina's avatar

That’s so lovely! Thank you for sharing—and for reading! <3

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Jenni Johnson's avatar

“Someone I don’t yet know is now living the things they’ll tell me about later.” STUNNING

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Carina's avatar

Thank you!!!

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Nyarkoa's avatar

i love love this 💕

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Carina's avatar

Thank you so much! :))

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Claire's avatar

Absolutely love this piece

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Carina's avatar

Thank you so much, Claire! Makes me happy to hear :)

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Tommy Dixon's avatar

Beautiful essay Carina. Loved it (:

Not a goddamned delusional romantic at all

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Carina's avatar

Thank you very much, Tommy! Both for reading and commenting, and for not thinking I'm a goddamned delusional romantic hahaha – I'm glad :)

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Tommy Dixon's avatar

If you are, I am one too. I don’t think romance is supposed to be rational anyway - perhaps romance should be the exact opposite.

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Carina's avatar

Cheers then! No, but I very much agree.

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Angelina Hazzouri's avatar

WOW!! this is crazy—thanks for sharing and for the tag :) my mom always says there's no such thing as a coincidence. love this piece !!!

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Carina's avatar

Thank you so much for reading, Angelina!! Stumbled upon your essay in the middle of writing this one and felt I had to include it. Such a great piece :) Love that your mom says that! Thinking there's no such thing as a coincidence makes everything more important or meaningful in some way.

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Kaitlin Shendale's avatar

I love the feeling of reflection when my mind turns inward, revisiting memories of the people I've met along the way. I often find myself laughing and thinking, "Wow, how different would life be if I hadn't known you or shared that experience?" Sometimes, there's an ache knowing I'll never see those individuals again, that it was just a small moment in time. While at other moments, there's a sense of warmth, knowing that some of them are here to stay. What a great read! Thank you for sharing!

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Carina's avatar

Beautiful reflections<3 Thank you!

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Parker's avatar

beautiful, this gave me the energy to leave my house for once, and try

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Carina's avatar

That means a lot to hear, thank you. Proud of you <3

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N’s Postcards💌's avatar

This is so beautiful and thought provoking. I absolutely love this piece!

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Carina's avatar

Thank you so much! Glad you liked it!

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Her0dyssey's avatar

Maybe we are reading the same substack article. This article! Right now. Who knows ✨

I Loved it. The hope, the desire, the optimism, the sheer believe in Magic...Ohh it's so beautiful 💗

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Carina's avatar

Yes, who knows! Thank you so much, that’s lovely to hear <3

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Simply Sheeny's avatar

Absolutely adored this piece, Carina! 🩵✨

I often wonder about the little synchronicities in my life and perhaps somewhere, sometime, someplace that that special someone would be there too. Even if they weren’t exactly “The One”, somehow that day we were in-sync and that’s when our story started or perhaps even ended.

And isn’t it funny that if I were a second too early or a second too late, we wouldn’t have encountered each other, but right there, right then, our strings intertwined. It’s up to fate if that string unravels or continues to be interweaved.

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Carina's avatar

Thank you so much! Really glad it resonated with you <3

And I absolutely agree, it’s such a fascinating concept that I will never stop being amazed by.

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sha's avatar

Thankyou for sharing this! I love it! I love the "we think alike" part. I never thought of it that way, but now, I believe it's true. With many things in common, when the time is right, two people will connect. Just like how I found your post here, we think alike, hence I found you :) I believe I'll meet someone who matches my energy just like that by just doing things I love. Thankyou for giving me hope (haha) and reassuring me that I am doing the right thing and I'm on the right path. No need to rush, just living my best life right now

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Carina's avatar

That's lovely!! I had never thought of the "we think alike" part before either, which is why I found the story fascinating and had to inlude it. Thank you for reading and for this beautiful comment too <3

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Seb's avatar

I loved this piece! It has left me with a feeling I will start to see more like minded people around me and that fills me with joy.

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Carina's avatar

I’m so glad to hear that! :)

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Talia's avatar

Loved this so much!

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Carina's avatar

Thank you! I’m glad <3

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Kamaleshwary. SD's avatar

Thanks for feeding my delusions(in a positive way). In this fast paced world where everyone is in love I think when is my time and at the same time I won't be having the FOMO to be in a relationship. I think this time is for me, to build me. ❤️

Ps :I love this post sm;))

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Carina's avatar

I love that. Thank you so much! <3

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