The Things That Had to Go Wrong
Have you ever wondered how you met the people who are now so important to you? The nuance of those moments was so subtle that, had you missed it, you might not have the people you have today.
You almost feel like it’s serendipity doing the work. There’s no way you could have planned it. The best friendships don’t happen over planned meet-ups, group projects, or team-bonding activities. They happen over something ridiculous and random.
When I talk to the people I like and hear their stories, I also wonder how many things had to go wrong before we even met. If those things had gone exactly as planned, we wouldn’t have met. They are glad that they met me, and so am I, but that’s because we happen to be going through certain circumstances where we need a specific kind of company—people who can understand us.
But if those circumstances had unfolded even slightly differently, we wouldn’t have met. And if you dive even deeper, you realise that so many things had to fall into place for that one event to happen—or not happen. Literally hundreds of small things had to align. And either they did or they didn’t, and that’s why you find yourself sitting in front of someone with whom you have that perfect chemistry.
It makes me think that either life is truly random and we have no control over anything in the world, or there is a God who, through some systematic causal chain, makes sure you get through this life. And if that means getting there with the help of someone, then so be it.
Believe in serendipity. Be open to every eventuality in life, because I think we are meant to survive this life either way. We will meet people without ever knowing how. We will intuitively pick up on signals that we would usually ignore, but this time, for some reason, we won’t. And we will end up with people who make us feel lucky to have found them.