It'll all be okay

I am not the kind of person who just goes with the flow. I like definite plans, I like feeling in control. Meeting at 10pm outside the Great Portland Street underground station: that is a definite plan I can easily live with. Especially when an underground station only has one exit. Usually, even if I am unsure, I can just pick up the phone and call. I know exactly one person who does not have a cell phone. However, there are some other rare situations when people can't use cell phones. 10 years ago this would not have been very stressful; it used to be totally ok. But now, who can live without a cell phone? When someone tells me "Don't worry, it's gonna work out" I usually cringe: it doesn't always work out ok! I am, however, determined to go with the flow more. After all, there are situations in which we cannot and should not have complete control and I better get used to that. And sometimes, just maybe, when something is meant to work out, then it just does. Gotta have some faith in it.

One time not too long ago, I was meeting a friend after a competition. Foreign city, no cell phones, thousands of people and darkness. He said let's meet by the river, near the wake-boarders, there is a small grassy area across, and some restaurants, it's really near the exit, you can't miss it! Um, ok. Suppressing my usual neurotic self, I tried to not worry; at least not show it. Ok, ok, I said, I will be there.

A few hours before the meeting time, I was heading to the competition. I got on the wrong train, which I noticed quickly and got off at the first station, with the intention of taking the train back one stop and finding the right train. However, I was in a rush to meet some other people, and when I got off the train, I noticed I wasn't the only one lost. There was a small group of people looking around in confusion: we were all directed towards the exit where signs informed us that we can walk to our destination in 15 minutes. So we all took off in a group and followed the signs. In a few minutes, our destination was already visible across a little bay. When we got to the bay, I noticed a bunch of wake-boarders. Then a little grassy area. Restaurants. Ok, this must be where I have to be in a few hours. But wait, it's not just not near the exit, but in the complete opposite direction! I stood there thinking for a few minutes. Does my friend have a bad sense of direction? I know I have a great sense of direction, so I decided to trust my instincts: this must be the place.

I didn't think much about the whole thing until a few hours later, when I was getting ready to walk there. Going towards the exit, I ran right into my friend. Oh hey, listen, are you sure this place is towards the exit? No, I guess not, oh well, good thing you know where it is, I thought it was in the other direction.

The point of the story is, well, if I hadn't gotten on the wrong train, I would have most likely never found the wake-boarders and the grassy area in the dark. And if I hadn't run into my friend later on, he most likely wouldn't have found it. But I have to admit that everything worked out as well as it could have. Maybe, just maybe, when something's meant to work out, then it just does. I need to have more faith.