we are who we meet

traveling, meeting people, having conversations, exchanging ideas these are the things that make a trip, or any day in your life, what it is. i have met and talked to more interesting people in the past week than i have on any trip of my life. i am not sure what makes this trip different, but it is and i like it.

i woke up this morning thinking about the past few days and how much i enjoyed them. the halong bay trip was great, and to a very large extent that was due to the other people on the trip. there was english, chinese, italian and french being spoken around the table. communication was not an issue

the places we live, work, study or visit are not places to themselves, they are collections of people. all people are both different and the same as those in other places. this has struck me repeatedly since leaving the US, no matter what, people really are the same.

any place, any event is really was result of the people you bump into. the chance conversation, the smile you see when you look up, the distant stare that makes you wonder what is behind it. the look someone gives you when they realize you are taking their picture. the conversation that seems to flow, or is quiet without concern. they add up to the experience.

the interesting thing is that these people have lived lives that have by design or chance brought them to the same place as you, at the same moment. how many times in your life will you bump into this person? where will you each be in your lives the next time come within reach?

as you meet people you like, as you finish conversations you enjoy, when and how do you tell them that you would like to talk again. continuing to talk means opening yourself to this person and possibly sharing parts of your life far away from the chance encounter.

not saying anything, simply walking away and beginning the random drift of life away from them is easiest. but it would also mean you may never speak to them again. it is emotionally safe, it is socially acceptable, it is what most people expect. there is an issue though, for some of the people you meet in your life this would be a sad way to end a wonderful day.