“Synchronicity”
“A purpose of human life, no matter who is controlling it, is to love whoever is around to be loved.” –Kurt Vonnegut
Experiences of synchronicity indicate to me that I’m in the right place as I believe meaningful coincidences are the road signs of life. When you experience something synchronistic, keep moving in the direction you are going. Something of meaning is either happening or about to happen.
As I mentioned in the assignment, finding an entire chapter devoted to a concept created by Kurt Vonnegut is a big example. In fact, the first time I read this book I was also reading Vonnegut’s “Cat’s Cradle,” the book that contains the concept Remen references. As a refresher, it’s called a karass and it means a group of people who have come together to complete some high purpose.
I think this is going on all the time, people coming together to complete something significant. And while Vonnegut says that the people involved may not be aware of what they are doing, I think it’s not only possible but important to develop a trusting attitude about it. In other words, we don’t need to always understand the purpose. We don’t even need to know that we are fulfilling one. But what IS important is how we go about doing our part. Simply, in everything we do our job is to behave in a positive, mindful way.
Also of importance, in “Cat’s Cradle” Vonnegut explains the concept of a false karass, what he calls a granfalloon. A granfalloon is a group of people who think they have a connection but in reality they don’t. A lot of misery gets created by people trying to defend their granfalloons. For instance, sports fans get worked up cheering for their team and hating the fans of other teams. When you stop and think about it, it’s kind of silly, getting mad at somebody because of his allegiance to a particular football team. But the concept is more significant when extended to include wars fought over the idea that my way of living is better than yours and I need to beat you into submission.
Link to Book: “My Grandfather’s Blessings”