Once I spent about five hours with a stranger in a hotel lobby. How this happened was irrelevant. But being in that moment means so much more than we will all ever know. We often encounter ourselves with strangers, with that deep feeling that alerts us we will never see them again after this. But we even more so encounter people we don’t know, and these thoughts don’t phase us. Why do we encounter people we will never see again? Is it a learning experience? Are they preparing us for future situations, or are we preparing them? Sometimes these encounters are very short, just like a simple smile and hello. Call me an over thinker or an over believer but it all means something. Just what is it, though? We can all raise answers to this question, but it will never be certain.

These encounters are interspersed throughout our life. We are the protagonists and all the strangers are the anecdote of our story. When I met this person in the hotel lobby, we talked about life. We told each other our stories up to that current moment. Things unique as history, studying abroad, music, and much more. I consider what happened that night one of the most intellectual encounters I have ever had. As the night turned into morning and the encounter would soon end, we exchanged information. We connected on so many levels. Though deep down I knew I would never see this person again. This person even claimed that night “we met at the wrong time.” But I disagree.

Now that I’m clearly reflecting on what happened that night, I have come to my own conclusion. We were meant to meet, and we were meant to meet that night. Though this person had an electrifying soul, I believe I was only meant to get a taste of that soul for only five hours and not an hour more. I think they were preparing me for all the future people I will meet, who will have electrifying souls as such. But they will shine even brighter. Because we can always do better. And we are all making room for improvements.

But what about all the other encounters. Are they also preparing us for the better? I’m not sure, but let’s perceive it that way. Because if you reverse the roles, that means you and I are constantly preparing strangers for better situations. And that’s pretty neat to wrap your mind around. It’s like it gives us an even better purpose for life. Knowing that you’re simultaneously improving the lives of others.

As I mentioned above, a lot and most of our encounters with strangers are just a simple smile and hello. This happens almost every day. We need to start smiling more. There have been countless times where I have been having a bad day and a stranger shot me a smile. Personally, it gives me a sense of warmth that things can be OK — All because of a micro-encounter with a stranger. This doesn’t make the stranger a good person, but a smile is a smile. We need to start looking up instead of down. We really need to smile more and find the purpose in everything. What is your most memorable encounter with a stranger?