Okay, so this started off as an opinion, but I guess I want to find out what other people think, so I'm going to post it as a question, because I'm sneaky like that.

In this opinion post, http://www.leftos.com/opinion/view/324, Lovergirl suggested that a great deal of a relationship is not just mere compatibility but also timing (are you both single and looking, do you both have time to commit to each other, etc).

I find views like this interesting because I don't believe that love is always enough, and sometimes external factors can tear people apart that are otherwise compatible enough to remain together for life.

It also struck me that sometimes we find people in the right place at the right time just out of pure luck. I know that I was going through a bit of a lesbian phase (not to say that I lesbianism is a phase, but I was at a point in my life where I had no interest in dating men whatsoever, yet I still identified as bisexual/pansexual), and this went on for about a year where my attentions just naturally were focused on dating women. After yet another painful rejection by a woman, I was getting frustrated (I'm sure 90% of the guys on this site are like "we know the feeling!"). I went onto to okcupid, my online dating site of choice, and I looked through the female profiles and sent out a few messages, hoping to get a reply or two, and just for kicks, I looked at some profiles of guys.

The vast majority of them I was not impressed with by all. The pickings were really slim (I'm also picky with guys, so that could account for something). I finally came across a profile that was tolerable, the picture was of someone who wasn't disgusting, and at least the guy was a university graduate and self-proclaimed geek. I sent him a long rambly message trying to show off my happy-go-lucky and quirky side. To show of my quirkiness I included a random factoid that I had learned listening to a fiction audio book earlier that day - Silk shirts were originally used by the Mongols are armour to protect themselves against barbed arrows. The silk was strong enough to catch the barbs, and prevent further damage when the arrow was pulled out.

Turns out, the guy that I was messaging is a HUGE history and war buff. I had said exactly the right thing to spark his interest and make a good impression. i would normally not have said anything of the kind since I know nothing about history or war. It just so happens that I was listening to the right audio book on the right day to have that in my mind, and that I was in the right mood to message a guy (which I hadn't done in almost a year) and he had happened to log in shortly before I sent the message (I was looking for people who had logged in recently). It was a random and magical aligning of the stars that has now resulted in a year and half long relationship.

Yes, part of us being together for so long is chemistry (which we have plenty of), but part of it is pure luck and happenstance.

So what elements of luck or coincidence played a role in you getting together with your current/former sweetheart? What seemingly small decisions did you make that led to you meeting your love, and without that decision, you might never have met?