A Friendly Hello...or Two

When we first moved to this area, I started walking on the trails at our local  lake. I have been doing that for about five years now, at about the same time every day and on pretty specific days of the week. That regularity means that I see some of the same people over and over again. Though I have learned some names I mostly recognize people by their dogs!

As the years have past, I have developed an expectation of seeing the "regulars." You start to look for people and worry a little if you don't see them. Yesterday morning as I was walking, one of my "regulars" drove by and waved to me as I walked on a visible-to-the-road portion of the trail. It was nicely reassuring to know that she would soon be on the trail! She recognized me form a distance and gave a friendly "hello" wave. As I was walking along, smiling to myself about that wave, I saw a man whom I had not seen in several months. In saying hello to him, I learned that he had been taking a break from walking due to the stress of his living situation. We fell into step and in a matter of moments, he told me several things about his life history as well as some of the events leading up to the resumption of his walking regimen. I tried to hear what he was saying and to offer some supportive comments. He was walking faster than me and so eventually I fell behind. I saw him again on the return trip and we told each other to have a good day.

As I finished my walk, I reflected on both people with whom I had interacted. I always feel like I am getting something from a brief encounter but it's always from my vantage point. What did I get out of the interaction?  Whether this is conscious on my part or not, I find myself consistently "searching" for people with whom I can have a dialogue. It occurred to me though that maybe it works in reverse too. Maybe not only was I seeking them (the two people I had seen on the trail this day) but maybe they were seeking me as well. Maybe I was supposed to cross their path for some reason. Maybe it's even a reason that I don't know about but is important nonetheless. It made me think that you never know when your presence will be needed.
Libby