You Are Going to Meet Again

“We are all of us fellow-passengers on one and the same planet,”

“We are all of us fellow-passengers on one and the same planet,”1 said Hendrick Van Loon. And if we ever behave in a manner that makes it necessary for us to avoid other people, we have made a mistake. In the first place, the chances of avoiding other people are not very good. So long as we are fellow-passengers on the same planet, there are likely to be meetings face to face.

If we have done wrong things or acted in unseemly ways, if we have been dishonest of taken advantage of anyone, or even just plain been unpleasant, the chances are we shall meet our mistakes—again and again, anywhere, anytime. Some years ago, an interesting and colorful character had this to say: “Never act toward someone as though you were never going to come across him again in life…. Never sacrifice what the future may hold for some immediate gain. Be yourself with everyone you meet—but be your best self, for you can be sure that before you have lived out your life you are going to meet again.”2

We don’t have to agree with people to get along with them; we don’t have to compromise of abandon out own principles, but we do have to be honest considerate, forthright and fair. The world can become very small and cramped if there is any place we can’t go, any street we can’t walk on, any crowd we can’t mingle with for fear of the embarrassment of seeing someone to whom we have been unfair of whom we have offended. And this is true at any age. We may deal unkindly or unfairly with a child, and in later years find ourselves face to face with the man he has become, and find him in some place of position where we must ask him for some service, or need his help under some circumstances. Besides, it gnaws at us inside if there are people with whom our relationships haven’t been altogether honest of with whom we have been unfair, curt, or unkind.

The world becomes very confined, if because of our misconduct, there are those we feel we have to avoid. In a sense, it is as Edward Fitzgerald said it: “Any road leads to the end of the world.”3

said Hendrick Van Loon. And if we ever behave in a manner that makes it necessary for us to avoid other people, we have made a mistake. In the first place, the chances of avoiding other people are not very good. So long as we are fellow-passengers on the same planet, there are likely to be meetings face to face.

If we have done wrong things or acted in unseemly ways, if we have been dishonest of taken advantage of anyone, or even just plain been unpleasant, the chances are we shall meet our mistakes—again and again, anywhere, anytime. Some years ago, an interesting and colorful character had this to say: “Never act toward someone as though you were never going to come across him again in life…. Never sacrifice what the future may hold for some immediate gain. Be yourself with everyone you meet—but be your best self, for you can be sure that before you have lived out your life you are going to meet again.”

We don’t have to agree with people to get along with them; we don’t have to compromise of abandon out own principles, but we do have to be honest considerate, forthright and fair. The world can become very small and cramped if there is any place we can’t go, any street we can’t walk on, any crowd we can’t mingle with for fear of the embarrassment of seeing someone to whom we have been unfair of whom we have offended. And this is true at any age. We may deal unkindly or unfairly with a child, and in later years find ourselves face to face with the man he has become, and find him in some place of position where we must ask him for some service, or need his help under some circumstances. Besides, it gnaws at us inside if there are people with whom our relationships haven’t been altogether honest of with whom we have been unfair, curt, or unkind.

The world becomes very confined, if because of our misconduct, there are those we feel we have to avoid. In a sense, it is as Edward Fitzgerald said it: “Any road leads to the end of the world.”