Welcome to another edition of Word Nerd Wednesday! 🙂 This week is release week for what has definitely been one of the most satisfying reads for me so far this year: The Memory of You by Catherine West. If you haven’t had a chance to read my review yet, make sure you check it out!
During the course of the book, Tanner asks a loaded question: “You think it’s possible? For two people to live entirely separate lives, suddenly find each other, and realize they haven’t been complete until that moment?” Natalie’s response is one word: “Kismet.”
It’s an intriguing word and an intriguing concept, don’t you think?—although, maybe I’m just remembering Meg Ryan’s breathy utterance in Sleepless in Seattle. 😊 In any case, it made me curious…
After a moment of confusion on Tanner’s part, Natalie explains it means ‘fate’ or ‘destiny’, and she’s right. It originates from the Turkish word qismet, and the Arabic words qismah, or qismat, which mean ‘portion’, ‘lot’, or ‘fate’—in other words, that which has been allotted to you. In our English language, it is most often associated with meeting ‘The One’; that person who is destined for us and who somehow completes us. But in the context of the Islamic religion, it was often used to convey the sentiment ‘Allah wills it’.
And all of that takes us into some deep philosophical and theological territory, doesn’t it? Territory I’m not even going to attempt to cover here! But I’m interested to know what you think. What does the word kismet mean to you? Have you experienced a moment or a meeting you would describe as kismet? Perhaps you would prefer to say Godmet (a little bit like coincidence vs. Godincidence).
Let me know your thoughts!
Leave a Reply