The Red String of Fate

About a month ago I was doing some research about different myths and I came across this old Asian myth which is specific to the Chinese and Japanese. They believe that at birth the gods tie a red invisible sting around your pinky finger (or ankle depending on the legend) and the end of that string is attached to your soulmate. I actually really hate the word soulmate but for this post it seems the easiest word to use. Also I don’t think the word soulmate pertains just to romantic relationships.  Anyways, according to this myth you are destined to meet this person in your lifetime regardless of place, time or circumstances. They say the string may tangle and stretch but it can never break. I read this and just loved the idea. Because most of us have at some point met someone who it felt like you were destined to meet. Someone who marks a point in your life when you identify things as before that person and after. A notch in time.

There are similar theories throughout history and in many different religions. Ancient Greek mythology believes that Zeus split humans into two separate pieces so you were destined to search for your other half. There are Hindu beliefs involving twin flames who are destined to unite and then continue reuniting in subsequent lives. In Judaism it is believed that you are destined to meet your soulmate and that your soulmate is determined 40 days before a child is born. Of all of these I like the story of the red string the most, but for me I think there are multiple strings tied to multiple people. I’ve always felt like we are so interconnected that I can easily imagine this network of strings all tangled and moving. These strings connecting you to people of great importance in your life. One to a soulmate (or multiple soulmates if that’s what you believe) others tied to people who will impact your life in a variety of ways.

Since walking the Camino de Santiago last fall I’ve had the blessing of meeting several people who have had a big impact on my life. Some of them were brief encounters that came at just the right time. We’ve all experienced the meeting of a person that initially seems insignificant but then inspires something in us whether that be a decision, a passion,  or opens us up to something we otherwise wouldn’t. Over the course of my career as a nurse I’ve had many such interactions with patients or their families. Moments were it felt like our paths were meant to cross- where the connections feels so genuine and strong like it was preordained that I would care for them. Over the last year I’ve also met two people for whom I now can’t imagine never having met. One of them is Kiwi. I refer to her as my platonic soulmate but I actually think the phrase kindred spirit is more fitting. She came into my life prior to a major heartbreak and kept me afloat.  We have a bond that will go on for years even though we are from opposite sides of the world. I can imagine us with greying hair, laughing over completely childish things and her taking kissy lipped selfies of us. The other one is a person who I felt a bond with that I’d never experienced before. He is easily one of the most genuine connections I’ve had with a guy, but things were complicated.  Saying goodbye to him was a gut wrenching experience and even though months have passed for me my feelings are just the same- unchanged despite the distance and silence between us. It feels like my heart skips a beat every time I see a guy wearing a ball cap and a flannel shirt, even though I know it’s not him. I’m still trying to work out the lesson I’m supposed to learn or why exactly it is that our paths crossed. Maybe it was to teach me that these types of connections are possible and not to settle for anything less.

Since reading the myth of the Red String of Fate I like to imagine multiple strings attached to me that are attached to people out there in the world. Some of them I met briefly, some are my dearest friends, some I have yet to meet. It’s a comforting thought. The thought that even though I have literally no idea what I’m doing with my life that it’s ok because I’m connected to my people. That they will come into my life as they are meant to when they are supposed to.

Anyways enough of my babble. I promised last week to update you about what my upcoming plans are. Well I’ll be here in Saudi Arabia until at least February when my contract ends. I had planned to leave at some point in the fall as I wanted to walk another Camino, but while my foot injury is better it’s not good enough for me to consider walking another 700km on it just yet. In October I’m traveling to Helsinki Finland and then making my way to Estonia and to Latvia and then Lithuania and eventually to Berlin where I’m spending a few nights catching up with my second cousin. In November I’m planning on traveling back to Canada for a week or so and then to Seattle to catch up with old friends and spend Yankee Thanksgiving with my bestie and her family. In December I’ll have to decide whether I’ll re-contract here in Saudi for another year, or extend my contract a few months to avoid North American winter. I’m sure there will be a few weekend getaways thrown in just to keep me busy.

Also in case you missed it- last month I did a podcast about my travel adventures/misadventures and you can listen to it here. Happy travels…..