The Workings Of Fate

All of the posts on this blog have dealt with some aspect of Hamlet.  My experience with Wittenberg, though, was affecting enough that I decided to pause to reflect upon fate.  For the die-hard Hamlet buffs who follow this blog, this post may not suit as well. It is a much more personal statement.

The playbill for Wittenberg has a note from the director, J. Paul Nicholas, about fate.  As he puts it,

"The fact that all of these seeds were planted in just the right way so that you would be in this space on this date to reap the harvest is so miraculous, it is almost as if it were predetermined by...well, you fill in the blank."

That statement rang very true in my case.  That I was sitting at that play at all could hardly have been less fateful.  I had planned to visit Richmond over the Christmas holiday.  Unplanned circumstances prevented me from getting there, so the trip was deferred.  Spring Break provided the perfect opportunity, both in terms of free time and choice weather conditions.  So there I was on April 13, heading south into I knew not exactly what.

On one of my first stops in the city, I picked up a copy of Style Weekly, a Richmond alternative newspaper.  It was nearly expired, but I kept it to read during a free moment.  While sitting at dinner at the Village Cafe, I pulled out the paper and began to leaf through it.  What should I discover but a review for a play entitled Wittenberg?  I actually missed the article on the first pass and did a double take.  I had never heard of the play, and I was intrigued immediately.  (I did not read the review entirely so as not to bias myself.)  The play was continuing during the week.  Again, opportunity.

Upon returning to the hotel where I was staying, I went to my laptop and looked for the play.  Although the reference given in the paper was a dead end, I found information at another website.  The play was running on weekends, which was less convenient for my schedule (but not impossible).  There was a performance the next evening, though--a Tuesday night Industry Night, at reduced ticket cost.  Were tickets available?  I discovered that they were indeed.  In fact, one seat that was open was front row, center.  Could this have been any more fortuitous?  Bought and reserved in a matter of minutes--I was going.  (While searching for the play, I learned of yet another coincidence that I will save for a future post and a future vacation.)

Opening the playbill, I found the director's note and was struck again by the workings of fate.  Then there was the play itself.  The content resonated on several levels.  It touched on my own philosophical and religious thoughts and questions.  It touched on a work-related discussion about religion that had occurred in the week prior to vacation.  It fit beautifully with the Hamlet blog.  Even something as simple as The Seeker, a song by The Who that appeared in the play and that had been heavily quoted in a book described in a previous post (3/23/14) was one more sign.

And so I am left even more certain that there is something called fate in this strange venture called life.  I go back one step further.  I would not be sitting here typing this at all had it not been suggested to me once that I should start a blog about Hamlet.  If not, then what exactly would I be doing at this moment?

"If it be now, 'tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come:  the readiness is all."