It is always what you don’t do that you regret or, at least, ruminate over. We remember a beautiful view, and we often think of how we should’ve gazed more, of how we should have looked closely at parts of the scenery we can’t much recall. It has been my realisation that when in doubt, it is best to say yes, regardless of how many How To… books in the bookstores tell me otherwise. It may be sound advice, but not all advice that seems sensible is good for you. If everyone in the world followed all sensible advice, they would not do half the things they managed to do. Most of what we do is a rebellion against what makes sense. Most life happens in the little window you overcome hesitation in. All good stories begin with: I know it makes little sense.
If someone had asked me in spring, even though it had blossomed bountifully, whether I would spend the beginning of autumn in another corner of the world, I would have said they were out of their mind. But then again, most life is about embracing the possibility of all things. Hiking over a trail with newfound friends who each have a unique way of looking at the world, for people seldom look at things in the same way, I thought over a lot of things, but most of all, I thought about the moment of inflexion. And the more I thought about it, as we crossed one picturesque landscape after another, the more I could see only one word: yes. It is in saying yes to most things that life blossoms like the spring I laughed away all those months ago. It is in saying yes that I am here. And wherever I go next, only my subtle agreement will take me there.
Things start to change the moment you entertain the possibility. The yes, the word itself comes much, much later. It is but a way to seal the deal; on most occasions, the decision is already made when you start pondering. That’s the trick to serendipity: you entertain all thoughts, and when something in you begs to say yes, you do it, regardless of how inane it sounds.
There is little that makes sense in this thing we call life, but if there’s anything that does, it’s that all good stories begin the same way.