It’s 11:11 p.m., and like any good superstitious human being I just made a wish. No one is quite sure where this legend came from, the idea that 11:11 holds some special significance, or that if you make a wish at that time it will come true.
After some googling I found a bunch of different interpretations. One of the most interesting said that instead of making a wish, what it really means is that twice a day, at 11:11, the stars, the universe, your heart, and your soul are all in alignment and you are exactly where you need to be at that moment.
I find that interpretation to be one the most romantic of all the ones I’ve read. Because it means that no matter how hard your life is, or how much suffering you may be enduring, at least twice a day you are at peace. Of course plenty of people have great lives, but even for them, to know that they can be fully at peace twice a day, for a moment in time, is a comforting thing.
I also read an account by one person who said that for several weeks on end, she will notice when it’s 11:11, both times a day. Then she won’t realize it again for a long period of time. She says this may be a window of some sort opening in her life.
Still another theory that says something significant happens at 11:11, and one should pay attention to their surroundings. I also saw one explanation that claims that one should just stop and observe the importance of the moment whenever the clock strikes 11:11.
All of these theorie are interesting, but I really like the window opening in one’s life the best. Because I’ve been noticing 11:11 a lot recently, mostly at night but occasionally in the morning too. This just happens to come during a period of great risk, change and upheaval in my life. I’m running a new blog, genxchronicle.com. We cover news, culture and lifestyle from a Generation X perspective. So far it’s going well, but we’re young and I just don’t know how it will turn out.
I also just published my first two ebooks. They’re children’s books about my life, and the adventures I have with my shy yet warming up adopted cat Copper. The first is called The Copper Courthship: A Cat and Human Love Story, and the second is Copper’s Corner: A Cat’s Life. They’re both available on Amazon Kindle now.
And, I’m working on a memoir about some of the interesting places I’ve lived in the world, such as Japan and Indonesia, and some of the cool places I’ve worked, such as the United Nations, and as a speechwriter for the South Korean government.
So it’s really a time of craziness, and I have a good deal of stress. Which is why it’s nice that I keep noticing 11:11, because maybe that means a window is opening up for my career. Maybe it doesn’t, too, but I’ll take interpretation A for $200, Alex.
There’s one other 11:11 phenomenon that’s gained traction in the past few years, especially with millennials and Gen Z. At 11:11., they spam everyone’s Snapchat with a black screen and a clock set to 11:11, to let people know they’re crushing on someone, which for the older folks out there means they like someone.
All I can really say to that one is, these crazy kids. What will they come up with next?
In the end, no one can say for sure what 11:11 really means, or what you should do at that time. For me, I like to think of it as a window, an opening, for my career. But who knows, maybe I’ll try Snapchatting a clock to a friend. I mean, there are plenty of women I like, and Gen X Chronicle has a Snapchat account, so maybe I should give it a shot.
Because you never know if something works ‘till you try.
