An Unexpected Encounter: A Thought on Destiny

Today, I met someone in the lift at 6:15 in the morning.

It was early, and I was getting late. I had to catch my school bus and was rushing towards the lift, hurriedly introspecting whether I had taken all my belongings required on the bus and at school, such as my laptop, water bottle, diary, small pouch, and almirah key.

Really, after a break of nine days, sitting back at home, relaxing and comforting myself with the late wake-ups and late sleeping pattern that I had followed all these days during the Dussehra vacation, it was not easy to get back on track. Preparing, cooking, meeting and greeting people around me, going around the city, and buying groceries—there was a long list of errands. How many? Countless!

Leaving all those thoughts at home, I marched towards the elevator, thinking something about home and something about school. I got into the lift after a wait of perhaps one minute, but that one minute seemed longer than any other span of sixty seconds.

The lift stopped on the fourteenth floor.

My thoughts were running through my brain. Why had someone come? Who had pressed the button at this hour of the day, when even the birds might not have woken up? Most human beings would prefer to be in their beds or perhaps at home, preparing breakfast and getting ready to leave.

There was a lady with a bright, beautiful smile on her glowing face. She held a yoga mat similar to the colour of the sky and a metallic water bottle. Her expression suddenly became a little awkward and confused, but she tried to veil it with a pleasant smile and politely inquired about me.

“You are going to the office early in the morning?”

I was quite hesitant, with reluctance in my wide-open eyes, which I was trying to keep open early in the morning. I nodded my head in affirmation.

Immediately, with a curious mindset that may have developed plenty of questions in her mind, the next question popped up.

“Where?”

I answered, “School.”

“Oh! I understand. That’s why so early?”

As the doors of the lift were about to open on the ground floor, she again stated, unable to keep her feelings to herself, “I am also a teacher; however, I am a yoga teacher.”

There was silence for a few seconds. Then, once again, came her cheerful voice: “Happy Learning!”

I too smiled and thanked her for her wishes.

As I continued towards my destination, I began to reflect on the encounter. What was it that had brought two teachers from different fields together at such an early hour? Was it merely a coincidence, or was there something more to it?

Perhaps, meeting this lady with such a charming personality was written in my destiny. I had left home with a mind occupied by countless thoughts about my responsibilities, yet this brief encounter had given me something unexpected to think about.

Chance encounters and opportunities are often created by God. Nothing is entirely in the hands of a human being. We often find ourselves in despair and feel tense about the circumstances in which we have to survive, but perhaps God has planned things beforehand in ways that we may not immediately understand.

Although, there is no doubt in the saying, “God helps those who help themselves.”

Perhaps, while we continue to fulfil our responsibilities and make sincere efforts, we must also learn to accept that not everything is within our control. Sometimes, the most ordinary moments leave us with thoughts that stay with us long after the moment has passed.