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Do you ever wonder why certain people come into your life? Or why someone has such a huge impact and then simply takes off? The phrase “Reason, Season or a Lifetime” gives us a greater understanding of the transience of friendships and relationships. 

Our life journey is a series of tests or lessons brought about by the choices we make. We often cross paths with others, but it is only upon reflection that we establish if there is a pattern. 

For example, a person may become difficult and suddenly disappear only to reappear years later. Even if is not always the same person, the scenario may keep recurring, prompting you to revisit the lesson and choose differently. 

In some cases, you may be the “teacher” and find that the people with whom you socialise all have similar requirements for friendship. Do you find yourself behaving as a counsellor or advisor? 

The Five People you meet in Heaven is a book by Mitch Albom and a film starring John Voight. It tells of a war veteran, Eddie, who feels he accomplished very little from his time on earth. Yet, at the time of his death, he is transported on a journey which shows the impact he had on five people’s lives and vice-versa — for a reason, season or a lifetime.   

Although he may not have realised it at the time, each of these people played pivotal roles in his life. Next time you wonder why people walk in and out of our lives, remember that there is no such thing as coincidence. Whether people stay for a reason, season or a lifetime, they cross our paths to impart valuable life lessons and show how we are inextricably connected. 

As Eddie is told in the book, “Each affects the other and the other affects the next, and the world is full of stories, but the stories are all one.”