Do we meet people by pure coincidence, or are we destined to encounter and engage with them?
Is there a greater design that shapes who enters our lives and the roles they come to play?
At times, I reflect on the people I have met and wonder whether these encounters were simply a chance. I find myself asking whether it was inevitable that our paths would cross, and how I should understand those who harmed me. Was I meant to meet them so that I might learn something from the experience? Some individuals have hurt me, and others have hurt me very deeply. I have never viewed those experiences as lessons in any meaningful sense. On the contrary, they took years to heal.
At the same time, when I think about others I have known, I recall many who have been remarkably kind and supportive. I met my wife at a young age, and from the moment I first saw her, I was mesmerised. I felt an immediate sense of familiarity and found myself momentarily unable to move. We became friends, then partners, and now we are married. It has been a positive journey, and our relationship has taught us a great deal about each other and about ourselves.
Some people believe that we choose our relationships before we are born. They even suggest that we select our parents. I do not subscribe to this view, particularly because I have worked with many victims of abuse who would never have chosen such suffering.
Do we meet people by chance, or is there some deeper intention at work? Perhaps the truth lies somewhere between the two.
