Recently I've been thinking a lot about something my father has said to me: "Be open, you never know who will be there for you."
His statement clearly came from experience, but, in the moment, I merely nodded at it in acknowledgement, then quickly threw it away into the "someday useful advice" file of my brain, oblivious to how often these words would come back to my working memory in the next months following his declaration. And, boy, have they made me reflect recently! Because it's true, you never know who will come in or out of your life, unexpectedly. One minute a friend invites you over for dinner and a wine night, the next minute your heart is breaking into a million because they are moving away. One day you decide your college roommate is bound to be your new best friend, and the next day you find out about her engagement only through the pixelated screen of your too-dim smartphone screen.
But, although this phenomena is quiet the tear-jerker, it is also beautiful, because it works in opposing forces as well. One morning you wake up alone in a new country, starting a new life with an empty schedule, and the next morning you wake and run out your door because you're already late for brunch with your international friends.
Yet most surprising, like my father suggested in his wisdom, are the unexpected people who stay around in the side-lines of our lives, waiting to deliver their next line. Who knows why they stayed around or decided to come back... Maybe they saw themselves in you? Maybe it is fate to cross paths again with certain souls? Maybe its existentialist and asking for an explanation is frivolous.
But, nevertheless, we are happy for their appearance in our lives, once again, because their unexpected resurfacing brought about a new lesson: You never know who will be around to help you, to be there for you, so: be open. I hope to continue inviting people back into my life, no matter how long it's been, or what our past was. All I care is to learn from their growth and experiences because, it's helping me grow too.
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