Rekindled Fire

Chance Encounters

“We sometimes encounter people, even perfect strangers, who begin to interest us at first sight, somehow suddenly, all at once, before a word has been spoken.”

Fyodor Dostoevsky

I had breakfast yesterday with a group of men I really did not know, but with whom I felt instantly comfortable. They are regular people with jobs in the real world, who are fortunate enough to have their heads in the clouds. They are poets and writers and seekers of story. We spent an hour and a half talking, and listening, trying to absorb the experience of the others, though we may never meet again.

Albert Schweitzer said, “In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.” Conversation about gathering stories, and writing them as authentically as possible, rekindled my spirit. It motivated me, once again, to pick up the threads of my unfinished book and carry the process forward.

Chance encounters are not accidental, and they often play a pivotal role in making progress on our spiritual journey. We humans tend toward routine—we get up everyday, put our feet on the floor and sally forth in much the same way we did yesterday, and will tomorrow. Sometimes, a suddenly opened door, a flash of color, a meeting of eyes wakes us from our sleepwalking. Alert to new energy, we feel the banked coals inside us swept by an unfamiliar wind into something that can heat the whole house. Life is full of chance encounters and wrong turnings; they can be doorways to enriched experience if we are willing to walk through them.

                                                             In the Spirit,

                                                                   Jane