I had one such encounter this evening, on the train from Birmingham to Manchester.

I spent the weekend visiting with good friends in Birmingham (we went to the Guy Fawkes festivities last night, which was very smokey, but lots of fun). I was due to catch the 4:48pm train, but we arrived at the station to discover it had been cancelled. There was another train due to leave at 5:03pm, but I was advised that the 5:48pm train would arrive in Manchester only 6 minutes later, and I decided I’d rather spend the extra time in a cafe. I bid farewell to my friends (I wasn’t about to make them wait there with me in the cold station), and occupied my time with a peppermint tea.

When it came time to board the train, the platform was quite crowded. I filed onboard with everyone else… and suddenly we came to a stop. There was one guy in front of me, and three people facing us. Everyone just stood there. I asked the first lady facing us if they were trying to disembark… they were. There were very few empty seats, and none next to us, so there was nowhere to go. I turned around to the people behind us and said, “Sorry guys, can we all back up? There are some people trying to get off.” Slowly people shuffled backward. To make more room (they still couldn’t get off), I and the guy who’d been in front of me moved into the little area between the carriages. (What is that called, anyway? A vestibule?)

Eventually everyone who needed to get off was able to do so, and we all began moving forward again. I helped a gentleman who was trying to get his case into the luggage rack (offered a suggestion as to how he could fit his case in), and we exchanged a few friendly comments in passing. There weren’t enough seats for everyone, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt me to stand for a while… after all, I’m usually pretty lucky in managing to secure a seat.

After a few stops, a number of seats became free, and I found myself seated at a table, opposite the gentleman with the case. I made a small joke, then we started chatting about my cancelled train, and where we were each headed.

He asked me what work I did that had brought me to the area, and I enquired the same of him. Part of his work is very corporate-type stuff. He’s also involved in sports coaching. But then, as he put it, there’s the really interesting part of his work, related to the coaching and training he does. The conversation quickly grew from exchanging pleasantries and small-talk, to an engaging and enlightening discussion on Emotional Freedom Techniques, Neuro-Linguistic Programming, Spiral Dynamics, and physics, amongst other topics. (I couldn’t help thinking that Malc or Abs probably would have enjoyed it thoroughly.) There was so much to the conversation, but to explain it all would take far too long.

By the time we’d reached his destination, we’d exchanged email addresses, and we both commented upon how glad we were that my train had been cancelled. As he disembarked, I was left marvelling at this profoundly positive experience.

It’s funny how seemingly insignificant choices (for me, choosing a particular replacement train, or deciding to stand instead of changing carriages to find a seat), can lead to wonderful experiences. As my new friend had pointed out, sometimes you just have to go with the flow, because you never know where it will lead you.