Bangkok, Thailand
He had a large, bright smile which was a perfect fit in the 'Land of Smiles' but compared to the people of Thailand, he was oversized. A big beard and an even bigger belly told me that he was not native to this country. I had noticed him hanging around Khao San Road for the last couple of days, and he intrigued me. When he introduced himself as Sanjay and I knew from his accent that he was from India. For some reason I felt like I could trust him. I followed him to the shade of a quiet, narrow ally off the busy street. He laid out two small pieces of cloth for us to sit on while he hummed a strange song. At first I was cautious but he was soothing, calming and I wanted to trust him. Once we were settled Sanjay took out a white piece of paper and an old pencil and instructed me to write down a list of things while he turned the other way. I was very careful not to let him see any of my answers. What was my favorite color? Mother's maiden name? Sibling names and ages, my birthdate, city I was born. There were more. I wrote down all my answers as Sanjay, back turned to me pulled out a second piece of paper. He did some writing himself then turned back to face me in our dingy solitude. As we both revealed our answers I was both shocked and chilled to see that Sanjay had written the exact same answers as I had. In his slow, calming voice he repeated all of my answers. He knew much about my life, too much. So many small details that I thought later I had somehow been played. That perhaps I had these things written somewhere and he found them. But there was no possible way for him to know these things. Then he smiled deeply at me, his big brown eyes told me not to be afraid but to seize these moments. My mind was liberated of my unobtrusive thoughts and was allowed to open up and soak in this moment of which I was both alien and yet somehow in my niche. He told me not to tell secrets, that I have an open heart. Then he told me of things to come.
When he was through, Sanjay pulled out a small wooden box filled with different trinkets and objects. He carefully selected one tiny object out, making it seem almost predetermined. He took my hand and placed the object firmly in my palm and closed my fingers around it, looked me in the eyes and said to me "I will see you again one day." He gathered his items and led me back to the commotion of the busy main street and almost at once he disappeared in the flurry of people. I drifted to the steps of a large building and plunked myself down, attempting to take in what had just happened to me. Then I realized that I was still clutching his small gift to me in my hand. I looked down at a neatly folded piece of paper which had been carefully wrapped around a small jade buddha and secured with a rubber band. On the paper was written: "An empty vessel makes much noise."
Of course at the time that that particular phrase did not mean much to me, but I also did not give it much thought. After composing myself, I spent the rest of that afternoon wandering so deep into the streets of Bangkok, lost in my thoughts, I had no idea how I would ever find my way back to the hotel. This was the start of my one month in this foreign land. Sanjay helped me set the pace for what I was about to face. So much of what he told me proved to be accurate. Some events happened precisely has he foretold them. It is a scary premonition, knowing that something is going to happen and being unable to stop it. It is not a natural feeling. There is also something to be said about misinterpretation. No matter what you know about the future or what feeling you have that something is going to happen, you must learn to take it all with a grain of salt. One must not let these things influence how we live our life from day to day.
Hey sera sera, whatever will be will be, the future's not ours to see. Hey sera sera.
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