Serendipity

He was a plane on September 11th, 2001. Somewhere above Idaho.

We were on a plane two days ago. Somewhere above Oklahoma.

He was telling me about 9/11. What it was like to find out on a plane. What it was like when your flight from Canada to Florida lands in Idaho Falls. And what it was like to be stuck in Idaho Falls for six days.

It was the time of his life.

He met some amazing people. People he never would talk to, but they were all stuck in Idaho Falls, so why not.

He met some locals. They took him caving. They took him hiking.

He had the best 6-day vacation of his life in a place he never would visit, had it not been for 9/11.

This is serendipity.

Most of the time we are focused on going from point A to point B. When we leave a place, we are going to another place. When we finish a thing, we start another thing. We imagine ourselves as independent actors. But in reality, we are like fish in a river. There is a strong current around us, pushing us in ways we don’t realize. We like to ignore the current. We like to fight the current.

But sometimes you don’t have a choice. Sometimes the current puts you in Idaho Falls for six days. And you have the time of your life.

We often have to fight the current to get what we know we want. But if you let the current take you every once and a while, you might find yourself having the time of your life. Meeting the kind of people you’ve been looking for and never finding. Enjoying experiences you wouldn’t think you’d enjoy.