I’m intrigued by coincidence and parallel events, markers in a life otherwise lacking in obvious direction.

Two years ago today I began a holiday without any expectation or serious thought. I left after ten days full of possibility and uncertainty.

Twitter, 4 October 2010

This week I learned that the artist that had unknowingly provided me the soundtrack to what would prove to be quite an important holiday to the UK had since released a new album. I discovered this two years to the day of the trip. Whether that is coincidence or a plea for significance is left to question. Either way, the music I listen to this week will be the continuation of those moments in two thousand and eight.

Nostalgia is often a sentimental desperation, a dwelling on the past that creates regrets and unnecessary analysis of what may or may not have been. However, I think there are moments worth remembering; milestones for comparing past expectations against current reality. It seems that we are always pulling aside the branches, trying to reconcile our expectations with the present, when largely nothing matches our expectations. Perhaps there is wisdom in reading the differences; clarity through the choices made.

The music reminds me that I ambled towards this present with little idea of whether it was possible — or quite often, whether it was a good idea. There may comfort in the reminder that there is often possibility in uncertainty.