Since I believe that everything happens for a reason, even if I don’t know the reason for years to come (or maybe ever), then my experiences happen for a reason. What I was thinking about this morning, though, is that sometimes it’s just not about me. Sometimes I have to experience something, or be somewhere, for another person. Let me attempt to explain.
I took a couple of classes at a wonderful institution a couple of hours from where I live. It was a two hour drive each way to get to and from class. Why did I drive so far, you might ask? The program that I was taking classes for was offered at a university right in my back yard. Why go out of my way to take a class that I could have attended five minutes from home? Well, there is a string of “coincidences” that led me to the classes I took.
I had taken an English class at the close place and had a very negative experience. In fact, the experience was so negative that I did not even think about that place for classes for several years. That left the other place, two hours away, that offered what I wanted. I got accepted and started attending class. The drive wore on me very quickly which is why I only took two classes. But during those two classes, I got to know some wonderful people.
One of my classmates was a lovely lady from South Korea. I enjoyed working with her and sincerely hope she has done everything she wanted to. We were talking one day, and she said, “Thank you for understanding me.” I was floored that she felt so blown off by people that she was grateful that I took the time to understand what she was saying. When I think back on the two classes I took, I think that moment may very well be why I was there. I was put in that situation so that I could provide a basic human connection for someone from a different country. That is one of the few moments that I remember with great clarity from my time at that university. It was obviously an important event for me to hold on to it. What I didn’t realize until today is that it was a moment for someone else. It’s not all about me, even in my own life.