Connect, collaborate, come together

A real, human, heart-tugging experience with unexpected connection and serendipity. 💞

A few weeks back, my partner and I attended an illusion stage show. Yep, a magic show for adults, we even held hands and shared a box of Maltesers (aww). On my left sat an elderly woman. During intermission her family stepped out leaving her alone, so decided to strike up conversation. She leant in to share about her thoughts on the performance, dinner plans, and grandchildren.

She then mentioned she was from Pula, Croatia, and her husband "a small town in Italy." I've been to Pula - when I stayed with family in our small ancestral town in Trieste, Italy - the same place her husband is from. Wide-eyed, she and I revelled at this rare and fortuitous connection. (In the middle of a show based on questioning your reality, it certainly was extra spooky!) 🔮

Out of all the seats in a room packed with people, I sat next to someone with a thread that connected to my own family history. We conversed like old friends, and her husband's face lit up as he told me about his boat trip which lined up with the time my nonno arrived. They wrote down their names and phone number, and said I'm welcome to call if I ever wanted to talk more.

I've lived across Australia from east to west, and it's always nice to come across little reminders of home, familiar stories, and shared roots. Call me cliché, but I feel like there's always a reason these things happen. There being so much upheaval and uncertainty with international relations at this time, it certainly helped to ground me a little.

People come together with positivity and curiosity, and segregate based on judgement and fear. These days, with so many things threatening to divide us, there needs to be more focus on what we have in common.

Reach out and talk to someone that's just passing by, waiting behind you in line, or even sitting right next to you. You never know who you'll connect with or what you'll learn.