Over the past few years, I’ve grown more open to spirituality—within the bounds of common sense but with genuine curiosity. I often ask myself the timeless questions: Why am I here? What obstacles are blocking my path? and most importantly: How can I learn from these? Since changing my mindset, I often feel that things around me are settling into place, and it’s as if luck has started to favor me.
Today, I no longer see negative events as obstacles but as opportunities—signals that there’s still work to do within myself. You’ve probably experienced how a challenge can end up giving you more than it took away. I’m not saying we should celebrate hardships, but this perspective has helped me immensely in daily life. It even shows up in my travels, where difficulties and challenges feel like little pieces I’m collecting from myself around the world.
A Meeting That Went Beyond Coincidence
Recently, something unexpected happened on a short flight. We didn’t book seats next to each other since it was just a few hours, and I usually like to dive into my own world then—reading, listening to music, or just reflecting. But this time, I spoke to the woman next to me. I have no idea why, since I’d never done that before, but I felt the Balaton looked so beautiful from here, she had to see it too.
Right from the first sentence, it felt like we’d known each other forever. This wasn’t your usual polite chat between strangers. We immediately touched on topics I’d normally only bring up after many meetings, and even then cautiously. Travel and reading experiences quickly gave way to numerology, astrology, and even politics. Yet we talked about them so naturally, as if it was obvious they’d come up.
We found many overlaps in the books we’d read, drew the same conclusions, and agreed on generational issues and the state of education. I smiled to myself several times during the conversation—like when I noticed she wore three mineral bracelets on her left wrist, just like me. Or when she shared that after her divorce, she took nothing but her books. Some are still packed in big boxes, but she doesn’t want to part with them. Just this week, I told my family we need a new bookshelf because my volumes no longer fit, yet I have no intention of letting them go.
A Shared Dream on Our Bucket Lists
Jordan has long been on my bucket list. Somehow, I’ve always felt that if I ever got there, it wouldn’t just be a simple trip but something deeper. I postponed it for a while, but recently we bought tickets and booked accommodations. My heart races with excitement every time I think about it.
Then came another confirmation. The woman next to me, who has traveled the world (I hope I can say the same in 30 years), added that Jordan is the only place she’d return to anytime. She’s not religious, but something special, deep, and intangible happened to her on Mount Nebo. By then, I knew that when I stand there next year, she would be on my mind.
At one point, I realized I wasn’t talking to a stranger but to my own self, 30 years older. A wiser, more experienced, yet still passionate and mindful woman who seemed to have come back from the future to show me something. When we landed, it casually came out that we even share the same first name.
It’s hard to put into words what that meeting felt like and how it shaped the start of an already special journey, where we mainly sought to trace humanity’s origins and past. As we parted, we both agreed: there are no coincidences.
Fate gave me a reminder through this conversation, but unfortunately, I forgot to ask what it meant to her and why those few shared hours were necessary.
Anyway, this whole experience reaffirmed something for me: every meeting, every insight has a reason. Maybe that’s why I love traveling so much. Every journey, every new place holds the chance to bring us closer to who we truly are—even if not in the way we expect.
