I ran into someone I used to coach at the park today. I haven’t seen them in five or six years. We took the kids up to a different part of the park and wandered around for a bit. We weren’t even going to go but changed our minds at the last second.
As we came to the end of one path I saw my friend. He saw me too. And I approached him and we chatted for a few minutes. I’d been thinking about reaching out to him from time to time but never did.
The universe reached out for me. I don’t think I would have seen him any time soon otherwise. I have to believe that’s what happened. It was just too random. And I could have easily missed it and never seen him again.
I think rather than relying on mysterious forces to connect and reconnect us to each other we should take action ourselves the first time. That first impulse of “I should reach out to so and so.” Why do we wait? What’s the benefit in not taking action? I would be sad if something happened and I had never had a chance to see him again.
We don’t have enough time in this life to hesitate. And the world is full of so many mysterious forces that can change everything in an instant. So much is out of our control.
But the things we can control – we need to seize those immediately. We can call or write or text someone we care about. We can tell someone we love them. We can write a book. Whatever it is.
I’m grateful that serendipity helped make this connection again but I’m also grateful for the reminder that I can’t put off the things that matter. Leaving what matters most up to chance is irresponsible. Rather than waiting on the force, I need to be the force.
