Fate: Only Smarties® have the answer.



One Day

I've just finished reading One Day by David Nicholls. In an attempt to get it finished before tomorrow's cinema trip to see the film version with some of the work lovelies, I've been reading it obsessively over the last week or so. I have to say it was an absolutely amazing book, I think if I had to choose just one word to describe it I'd have to say captivating. Aside from that it's funny, clever, and moving, and I don't think I've ever warmed so much to any fictional characters before (well, since the days of Harry Potter anyway...). This bizarre attachment to these fictional beings did mean however, that at a particular 'event' towards the end (and I'll try not to spoil the story too much) I was so stunned that I re-read that particular page about 5 times to make sure it had actually happened, and then practically blubbed my way through the last few chapters! I'm not sure I'll be able to cope with the film now!! (Although I'm sure Anne Hathaway's 'realistic' Northern accent will keep me entertained throughout.)

So anyway, this book, with it's 'event' and whatnot, has really got me thinking again about one of my good old favourite topics: Fate. Anyone that knows me well will tell you that I have some fanatical obsession with Fate, the 'everything happening for a reason', the 'signs' that give us subtle hints as to what we desire and how we can get it, and how I believe that life is (or at least should be) like the film Serendipity, my second favourite film of all time. Now first of all don't get me wrong, I don't think that everything is mapped out ready for us, that our 'destiny' is awaiting around the next few corners, simply sit around and wait for it to happen. No, life HAS to happen, we have to try to find the things that make us happy, the things we want, and make mistakes along the way, whether they turn out to be regretful mishaps, or unexpected pleasant surprises. We will fail at certain things, be knocked down, and get hurt, but it is how these little misadventures make us feel, how we react, and how we recover from them that start to indicate just what it is that we are looking for, and determine whether we actually find that desired 'thing'. As they say - "fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me (for not listening to Fate, you silly wench)". OK, so maybe not that last bit, but you get the idea.

But what if you don't see these signs? And what if these signs are all directing you to the one thing you don't realise you want? It is said that you can live you whole life without realising you had everything you could ever want right in front of you, but just never realised. Also, what if you miss your chance? Or realise what you're looking for, only it's now too late to do anything about it? What if you had everything you ever wanted, or ever needed, but threw it away because you thought the signs were telling you something different? Does Fate have a replay button??

So clearly I'm in over-thinking mode. And I obviously don't have any kind of solution to anything I've just rambled on about. It's not like Fate is some kind of science that can be tested or measured. So I'm afraid I don't have any answers. But then I knew this already because only Smarties® have the answer. Everyone knows this. Hmm, I want Smarties® now...

That is all.