Convergence

Convergence:  the act, condition, quality or fact of converging.

Cyclamen's near the Hyatt Hotel, San Francisco

Cyclamen’s near the Hyatt Hotel, San Francisco

It’s what came to mind when I clicked on Julia’s Blog, Defeat Despair last week.

In late December our family ventured to San Francisco in what could best be described as a bust.  Mike had the week off and wanted to go somewhere with our boys. We rode the train, then a trolley followed by a long walk, only to find a line wrapped around the building of the site we had come to see: the renovated Exploratorium.

It was a big let down, though not unexpected when you live in a large, metropolitan area.  Whatever you thought to do, it seems thousands of others had the same idea.

As we were leaving the City, we stopped in to see the holiday decorations on display at the Hyatt Regency, then exited into a courtyard filled with cyclamen.  I took several pictures before we headed home, and planned to blog about them the following week.

Cyclamen

Cyclamen up close

San Francisco Cyclamen

San Francisco Cyclamen

When I clicked on Julia’s blog I felt that odd sense of deja vu.  Her post “Actually See” featured her cyclamen photo, taken a decade earlier in the same neighborhood of San Francisco.  Convergence.  Julia lives in another state.  We connected through a fellow blogger living in Canada.  Yet here she was posting cyclamens from 2004 that seem to mirror my own the week before.

Convergence.

Have you had a similar experience?

11 thoughts on “Convergence

  1. Wow, so much about this post makes me happy! I’m happy they still have the cyclamen blooming in the city, making winters beautiful. Super happy that the always wonderful Exploratorium has had a makeover (although I’m sorry you were crowded out on the day you went 😦 ) And those gorgeous photos made me happy too, especially the close up ones! I am also happy you thought of me in this post. Convergence!

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  2. A shame you missed the event you intended to see but I imagine a city like San Francisco is a candy jar of Christmas wonder everywhere you look. Your photo’s turned out so nice. I love all the festive colour and even more because it’s not the usually red, white and green. With their petals up, they always remind me of butterflies that have stopped to sit for a bit.

    Speaking of convergence, our dear Julia has somehow connected with us both on timely posts. Just today, Julia posted about connecting with animals, which was precisely what Dani and I were speaking of yesterday on my blog. It would seem she has some sort of crystal ball 😀

    You can read my message to Julia here: http://defeatdespair.wordpress.com/2014/01/09/language-of-the-imagination

    That being said, I think our entire friendship is somehow one, lovely, miraculous convergence of epic proportions. Consider: we are both 2 years older than our husbands, we have the same middle name, our dads, our love of animals, our love of gardening, we’re both born in Canada….geez what else? Then there’s the fact that there are over 74 million blogs on WordPress and you found mine….what are the chances that we’d cross paths and connect? Thats us, kicking convergence in the butt, LOL xoxo

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  3. Beautiful pictures, Alys. Cyclamen are among my top five flowers of all time – the colours, the shapes – and those mass plantings in the big tubs are simply heavenly. Thank-you also for introducing me to Julia’s blog – I’m heading there now to read Boomdee’s comment – and to read the lovely Julia’s posts. So sorry you didn’t get to visit the Exploratorium – perhaps another family excursion for another day. Convergence is an interesting subject, isn’t it? It always astounds me when it happens – kind of like there’s a grand design for us all! xoxoxoxox

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  4. Synchronicity happens to me all the time – things meaningfully but not causally connected. It is reassuring to me when it happens. Like a cosmic joke, reminder, that forces bigger than me, more magical and mysterious are at work in my life. I feel when it happens that good is in my life despite my errors, flaws, misgivings, meanderings, redirections…Your description of convergence I had never thought of but I like it! And I love your beautiful and colorful photos! This time of year, in the high desert of central Oregon, there is little green, mostly tones of brown. By March we are hungry for color and venture to other parts where spring is making lovely show we will not see until May or June! Thank you for sharing your view of the world, Alys!!

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  5. Lovely photos and very nice post. And yes … several times, I have found that I posted a photo very similar to a photo that another had posted. Certainly not with the connections that you have found, but cool none the less.

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  6. The flowers are beautiful. Isn’t it funny how life has it’s own agenda? Glad you all had a good time in spite of the change in plans and I’m intrigued by the Convergence. Food for thought. I’m trying to send some rain your way.

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    • Thanks for the good rain karma. I’ll take it.

      Cyclamen are stunning flowers. They have such a rich color and interesting way of unfolding. I often think of them as bent in half, then lifting up as if finishing a bow.

      I love John Lennon’s famous quote: “Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans.” Indeed.

      I hope you are well, Marlene. I think perhaps I’ve missed your recent post.

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