I am a firm believer in divine intervention. I believe we meet people on purpose for a purpose. There are very few places in life that will allow you to sit closely to a stranger, not one person even remotely the same as the next.. except for the train. Love knows no distance and I have the upmost pleasure of being stupid in love with a boy from Connecticut allowing me the opportunity to train frequently. I found myself placed at a table style seat with 3 other men on a long ride up to Boston from my new Philly stomping grounds. I typically dread being seated with all men. But that was my first mistake... starting my interaction with an assumption. Something we all do so effortlessly out of human nature. I put my headphones on, and my hood up in an attempt to silently scream "please don't talk to me". However, as the minutes past by these 3 men began asking me questions about the train ride, how much longer they had to go til we hit New York City, so on and so forth. Very quickly the conversation was flowing. I come to find out all 3 gentleman are from Saudi Arabia and were visiting DC & New York City for business. We began talking, asking questions, pondering life's biggest topics (religion, war, language barriers, politics, creamy or crunchy peanut butter).
I felt safe. In fact, I felt that we were pulling this sense of unique authenticity out of one another.
Man number 1 had 2 wives (talk about a culture difference, phew). He told me his favorite tourist spot in the Big Apple is the American Girl Doll store because his daughters thought it was incredible. He showed me a picture from that day. He giggled easily and kept looking out the window.
Man number 2 had a speech impediment, we chatted about the importance of disability advocacy and funding inclusive community programs (can I get an amen?!)... he also loves the Netflix show Love on the Spectrum like I do. He had never had a Tic Tac until I offered him one. "Little and fruity" he said.
Man number 3 just lost his daughter in May to pediatric cancer, Man number 1 & 2 raised their beers in the air the moment her name was spoken. You could tell he was hurting. He has a passion for bringing tourism back into parts of the Middle East. He loves Saudi Arabia deeply.
We spent an hour and a half together. Connecting, sharing, laughing, and frequently clinking our Amtrak beers together (I didn't have the heart to tell them I can't drink beer because of my gluten allergy so I clinked with no sips, shhh). There was a level of comfortability, rawness, and beauty found in each topic covered. I had very little in common with these men, yet that was the least important element of the conversation.
Let these 3 men serve as a reminder that connection is sought, not handed to. Judgement is free but so is authenticity. What could have been another travel day was instead a reminder that we're all just people. Life is short. Life is long. Depends on who you ask. Let's just be a little softer, dig a little deeper, and stop every once in a while to cheers. We're all going to be okay.
"There are no strangers here; only friends you haven't met yet”- William Butler Yeats.
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