Sliding Doors

Have you ever wondered where you’ll end up after making a decision?

I had the most interesting experience a few weekends ago. I took a girls trip with 3 friends from elementary school to visit another friend that we met in junior high. We had a BLAST, reminiscing, laughing, crying, discussing everything kids, husbands, jobs, dreams, regrets, health, losses, new life, marriages and more. Conversations that allow you to release things, gain perspective and fill your heart.

Now when I reflect about this fine group of women, I know that we weren’t always “in friendship.” There were moments in our lives where our friendships ebbed and flowed, being non-existent some years, and then finding our way back to friendship through boyfriends, friend groups, and babies.

I think back on those earlier years, where I personally didn’t feel like I fit in with the group. When I was on my own journey of self discovery. I was an angsty teenager, trying to protest the box that society was trying to put me in. I wanted to rebel and stand out. Problem is, and so I learned, that standing out doesn’t have to be rebelling from the system. It can actually be even more powerful to ‘be’ a part of the system. Though, I admit, that realization came many years later, when there was time between me and my teenage self.

As I reflect, I often wonder about those earlier decisions, to break away from the group, and then what lead me back. I am certain that if I hadn’t reconnected with an old flame, who I later married, that I might not have reconnected with these amazing ladies. I wonder if I didn’t have kids around the same time, would we still have spent so many hours together walking and talking about raising kids? I wonder if our kids didn’t become amazing friends, would we have spent most of our vacations together?

It’s fascinating to think and to wonder – who’s in control anyway? Would or could we chalk this all up to fate, or do we really have control over our destiny?  If you believe in manifestation, then you know that you can create your own reality, and yet, is there a special thing called luck that exists, or something even more divine?

So, back to my girl's trip....we gathered on the mainland, a rarity that we could all be together, and remarkable that we had maintained even threads of relationships from childhood into adulthood. As we waited for our dinner spot, we walked into a nearby store, full of wonderful local art, jewelry, cards and more. We entered the store and not but 15 seconds later there she was, a past friend, a mountain of shared experiences, smiling and looking happy – perhaps a little shocked…as we were too. There were hugs, and smiles, and a little hint of hurt that lay beneath the surface. Unfortunately, the threads of this friendship had been pulled so tight, they broke, or perhaps were released.

There was so much emotion happening in that moment for us all, but in that instant, I felt overwhelmed to document the moment with a selfie. You know why? Because it reminded me of the movie, Sliding Doors with Gwyneth Paltrow, where the fate of a women is determined by a single event - whether she catches the train or not. The movie explores the ripple effect of chance and choices and the unpredictability of love.

This was a Sliding Doors moment. Regardless of how our hundreds of hours were spent, decisions we made, opportunities we got or missed, from the moment we were all last together, we ended up being together for one moment in a random shop outside of our hometown.

Perhaps fate has more in store for us, or maybe it was an acknowledgement of the passing of time. Whatever it was – for one moment, we were all together again.

#Trusttheprocess #Trustyourself #Fauxvember