People We May Never Meet Again. 'A*™'*

Waikato Times, Volume 106, Issue 17877, 25 November 1929, Page 13

People We May Never Meet Again. 'A*™'*

“ATI of us are continually coming into contact with ordinary men whom wo never see again. We meet, perhaps converse, and separate to meet again no more. This is so common an experience that we scarcely give a thought to tho seriousness of such meetings.” “There is, if wo consider the matter, something almost solemn in this brushing against a fellow-creature for a few moments in the lifetime of both; it brings into a striking contrast the fact of individuality and tho vastness of tho human race,” adds “W.C.8.” in tho “Birmingham Post,” discussing a question rarely mentioned in newspapers.

“Two men, each with his own personality and his own life-story, touch each other for a moment in the long course of history, and then are lost to each other for the rest of their livos.

“By the law of chances we know that tho probalibity of ever seeing again most of those we casually meet in the course of our travels is so slight as to be what mathematicians call negligible. This, perhaps, is one reason why we generally take so little interest in them; as we are not likely to come across them again it hardly seems worth while to cultivate their acquaintance or to enter into any deep conversation with thorn.

“If, however, we do talk to them, we think, perhaps that it does not matter very much what wo say; as we aro meeting them only once we need not trouble to be on our guard or brace ourselves up to bo at our best. Nothing that wo say, however foolish, will ever be brought up against us, because those to whom wo speak are ignorant of our name, our address, our occupation; as

for the impression that we make on people who are, and will always be total Btrangers, need that give us a moment’s anxietvf “Reasoning on these lines may seem natural,’ but it displays an entire lack of tho sense of responsibility. A casual meeting with a stranger may Beem unimportant, but it is au occasion for the out-flowing of unconscious influence. Tho contact, however momentary, of two personalities is charged with possibilities beyond ail power of calculation.

“There must be few people who eann.t tell of the difference made in their lives by a brief talk with someone whom they never see again, of trpths they have learnt, of seed-thoughts that have borne fruit, of new outlooks that havo been gained. Formal logic may forbid us to argue from the effect of a few experiences to the prevalence of a universal law, but imagination is here a truer guide than logic, and suggests that everything we hear and say makes a difference beyond the power of anyone to estimate. “A few words may hurt or heal, poison or restore to health, prove the destruction of hope or the re-kindling of faith. We tell, for good or ill, upon everyone wo meet, however brief the meeting may be. There is something so potent in personality that influence goes forth even when no words arc spoken. “Considerations such as these munt make all sorious-minded people feel that they are under an obligation to be at their best whatever they do, and to. r®momber that every stranger is a neighbour. ”