What is the lowest probability event you have personally witnessed?

First One: When I was about 20 years old in Pompano Beach, Florida, a friend asked me to take some things to someone in Fort Lauderdale, about 30 minutes away. As we got off I-95 on Sunrise Boulevard, I told him I used to live near Sunrise until I was nine years old. We passed my old school, and I pointed it out to him. Then he turned onto my old street, and I exclaimed that I had lived on that same street. Finally, in disbelief, he pulled into my old driveway. We went into the home, and I explained to the people that I used to live there. I offered proof by asking them if the outlet in the bedroom was still burned out from when I put a paperclip into it.

Third One: In my 30s, I was in Argentina for a big, 200+ people anniversary party in honor of my grandparents. I was going table to table introducing myself. At one table, I began to share my fond memories of visiting Argentina in the past. I told a story about horse riding through rivers and other adventures when I was 17 on a large property in the countryside with the son of my grandmother’s brother. Suddenly, someone from the table yelled out my name—it was him, the son of my grandmother’s brother, who was in the story I was sharing.

Second One: In the late 1980s, on the last day of school in Pompano Beach, South Florida, I drove away tossing all my notebooks out of my sunroof. Normally, I hate littering, so I have no idea what got into me. That night, the phone rang, and I overheard a teacher telling my mother that I had thrown papers all over her front yard and that I had a day of detention alone with her. I couldn't believe that one could get detention after school was over. During detention, I explained to her how this was a huge coincidence. To this day, I still have no idea where she lived. I often wonder how many people have been convicted because of such improbable coincidences.

I’m wondering about attachment and transference with the therapist and the idea of escape and fantasy? How much do you think your strong feelings, constant thoughts, desires to be with your therapist are a way to escape from your present life? I wonder if the transference serves another purpose than to show us our wounds and/or past experiences, but is a present coping strategy for managing what we don’t want to face (even if unconsciously) in the present—-current relationships, life circumstances, etc. Can anyone relate to this concept of escape in relation to their therapy relationship? How does this play out for you?