People come into our lives for a time, for a reason, and we are changed for good.

Mid-October my seventy-two-year-old German neighbor moved. She lived two houses away from me for about two and a half years. We had a lot of contact. Walking in the forest with my dog, I was thinking this morning about how a huge number of people have passed by in my life. What the reasons were and what all this longer or shorter business and private relationships brought. And be sure, of course, not just only for me. All these people (and for me even animals) and contacts had an impact. They changed me for good.

If you think about it for a moment, everything has a reason and nothing is forever. For example, television series like the Flintstones or Popeye the sailor man from my youth have made way for new things now. And these new things now, are also temporary again because there will certainly be new ones.

The similarity I see in all those people I have come across at school, during internships, in the hospitality branch, during courses, in service clubs, in my work in the Netherlands and abroad, during crisis and disasters, during retreats and life-coaching, and in my private life, is that they all are or were a life development direction indicator for me. For a shorter or longer time our individual lifepaths merged.

Fortunately, I look back on many good encounters. Actually countless. If I take the time to think back I still very, very much still remember many of them.

Lesser ones of course I also had. Such as in Barneveld (The Netherlands), where I was allowed to work for a while and where our family was confronted with religious discrimination and an attempt to kidnap me. Or in the province Zeeland (The Netherlands) where, in my eyes and at least in the period that I worked there, in the so called ‘higher’ levels of decision makers, the grant factor to succeed was regularly missing, and were island culture and played ‘power games’ played an important disguised role in organization developments. But whether they were really bad encounters? From my life development direction indicator that I just mentioned, actually they were not bad.

All those people and their encounters had and have a reason. And yes, those were and are double "for good". In a way to give direction to what is good for me and on the other hand because they have changed me for good, forever. They all were bricks to build my life-path to where I am now.

They have brought a lot. New visions of life for example. They opened windows and doors of life that I might never have opened on my own.

Great to meet new people (and animals) regularly and actually to let go of old contacts as well. It indicates that you are still growing and are also available to help others in their growth.

And yes, sometimes that makes me a bit sad. Especially with those who feel good, such as this German neighbor. And yet ... not complaining, but being thankful and grateful, and trusting that new doors and windows will open not only for yourself but also for the other persons to continue each life path.

Gangey Gruma (Frans Captijn)
email: captijninsight@gmail.com 

Foto blog: http://franscaptijnhisworld.blogspot.com

Captijn Insight. Catalyst in developing tranquility & in-sight to get in a sustainable way real connection, purpose, pleasure and flow in life, love, family, business, career and work again.