Tracking Trajectories
For me, certain memories can evaporate. I can't recall when I first met many people who became close friends. Last weekend, I reconnected with two of them after many years. The relationships seem inevitable in retrospect, like there was no before, rather they always were. Foresight, like many consultancies, often gets hired and functions because of its connections. Focused on weighty social impact matters, my colleagues and I most often take the connections we have with one another for granted, a byproduct rather than an asset. It's difficult for significant intentional change to occur if there isn't a web of mutually amplifying and reinforcing associations. Until my second year in college, I didn't really prioritize people, but dwelled more in my head and was fairly miserable. I've lived differently since then. Last weekend was a welcome and unexpected reunion. Coincidentally, it was changed circumstances in each of our lives that remarkably and fairly spontaneously brought us together. We are all in a different place now, personally, professionally, and geographically, but discovered those previous bonds remain, and are perhaps stronger, because of the history we shared. Relationships are an act of faith. Time apart can actually season and intensify previous connections just as much as dilute. I feel closer to my two friends from decades ago because of what we shared catching up, which reaffirmed the depth of fondness for one another. These orbits of connection can swing away and back, responding to forces not always in my control. I can only strive to be true to the journey, however much I might not remember when or how it started.
