Maybe you are meant to meet someone…
Reason versus Coincidence
“What I really appreciate in you, is that you always look at everything, knowing that it happens for a reason”, a friend recently shared with me.
He is right. Being a friend since my early days in Mali, he knows me pretty well. He also knows that I have faced and endured quite a few challenging situations that most people would label as wrong.
We don’t always know why things happen. Especially not when we are in the middle of a situation. I too have at times been carried away by emotions, even believing that things weren’t right the way they were happening.
Over time my perception has changed. Although in certain cases the reason of something only becomes clear to me years later, I can look back and see the gold lining of the challenges I have encountered in my life. From the many crises in tourism during my years as a travel agent in Mali, and relationships ending in break-ups to the so-called chance encounters.
I have vivid memories of the challenges with my first landlady in Mali back in 2011-2012. It resulted in ending the rental contract and leaving the spot I loved along the river Niger in Ségou. However, when shortly after leaving my little paradise, tourism came to a standstill due to a rebellion followed by a military coup, I could see it as a blessing. Not only had I been given a situation that offered me the chance to learn and grow, I had also timely been freed of the costs of the house.
(It led to the story A House on the River.)
With hindsight I can also see the reason behind many other situations that happened the way they happened. For instance when my computer started a life of its own, directing me to a specific accommodation during my 2021 Egypt trip. It was the start of a rollercoaster journey, offering me an abundance of opportunities to learn, grow and heal.
A few months ago my flight from Egypt to The Netherlands was cancelled. I had just arrived at the airport, when I received a message about a 20-minute delay. Instantly, I felt that the delay would be longer. For a moment, it looked like my intuition was wrong. Boarding happened and the plane left the gate. Shortly after we returned due to a technical issue. After several hours of waiting at the airport, we were informed that the flight was cancelled and we would be transferred to a hotel. At 2:30 am I was the last one to be guided to my room. Exhausted as I was, I couldn’t stop smiling, looking around in the very pleasant suite.
Walking along Hurghada’s tourist walkway the next day, listening to the Friday morning prayer calls from the nearby mosques, I wondered ‘Why am I here?’
Coincidences are no longer part of my look at life. Whatever happens on my path, generally has a reason. I considered it unlikely that my guides would have me travel all the way from Alexandria to Hurghada if I wasn’t supposed to be on that cancelled flight.
‘Maybe you are meant to meet someone’, one of my spirit guides whispered in my ear.
If so, I knew it would be worth the inconvenience of the short night and the delayed departure.
That meant-to-be-meeting may not have happened. Or maybe it did, but I cannot yet see it as such. Either way, my guides seemed happy with the outcome and I was too. Boarding the plane that night, I could look back on an extra day of sunshine, a short night in a nice suite and the experience of staying in an all-inclusive resort. On top of that, a few weeks later, I would receive a pleasant financial compensation for the delayed arrival in The Netherlands.
Whether or not the main reason was a meeting, I gratefully received the blessings.
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