The bus I missed

A few years ago I missed my bus. That's it. No dramatic tragedy and no life changing accident. Just a missed bus. I was late. I remember running towards the stop with my bag bouncing against my shoulder. I was convinced that I could make it but no. I did not. The bus pulled away just as I arraived.

I stood there annoyed watching the bus disappear around the corner. At that time if felt like the worst thing would have happened in the morning. I was going to be katem nt planned schedule I had for that day was ruined. The day already felt lost. So I sat down in the nearby bench and waiting for the next one.

While I was waiting an old man took the seat beside me. He looked completely ordinary. He got simple clothes and simple smile and nothing remarkable. For a while neither of us spoke.

Then he looked at the road and sjad something strange." People get angry at delays bc they think exactly where thymeg are supposed to be". I was not sure if he was talking to me or to himself. But still I listened anyway.

He pointed at the empty road. "When I was young I thought that every set back was a disaster". I nodded politely. He continued.

"I failed and important exam". "That sucks".

"I lost a job" "Disaster" "The women I wanted to marry moved away" "A total disaster". He laughed softly.

Then he shook his head. "The funny thing is that one of those disasters lead me somewhere better".

I remember looking at him more carefully than before. Not because his story was extraordinary bit bc he seemed so certain and so peaceful. The next bus arraived.

Before getting in I asked him things got worked out int he way he wanted." No " he said surprising me. "Not everything works out"

Then he poured at a tree growing through a crack in the pavement "But people do.". I did not fully understand what he said at that time. Years later I think do.

I understood that life rarely follows the plans we make for it. Jobs do not always work out and relationships do not always work out. Dreams sometimes change and oppertunity disappear. People leave and unexpected problems arraived without warning.

And then when those things happen it feels like the world is falling apart. But most of the time what actually is happening is something else. We are adapting and growing and becoming. Not because we wanted to buy bc we had to.

The person I was back then beleived that a good life meant having complete control.

Not I think a good life means learning how to keep moving when control disappears. And learning how to trust yourself when certainity is unavailable. And learning how to survive chapters you never planned to write.

I still think about that old man sometimes. Especially on the difficult days. Days when plans collapse and days when things don't happen the way I planned and I hoped.

Because somewhere in my memory his voice still existsbanr remainds that not everything works out but people do.

And honestly that might be a more comforting truth. We look into the moments we planned and how it missed and we learn from our past experiences and howbot made up better and gives us a different perspective