The film was short. Two Strangers Who Meet Five Times depicts the brief intersection of a pair of lives, leaving the years between to our imagination. Yet it interweaves the effects of prejudice, compassion, and our capacity for change. 

 

Once I had an embroidery, that regretfully did not make the cut for every transcontinental move. Yet the quote is still in my mind's eye. The sentiment, if not the threads. It is almost as if its absence on my wall morphed the words to my heart. 

 

 

The video does a masterful job of expressing this. I am reminded of times when I failed to speak generously, either from fear or distraction. There were other fleeting bursts of magnanimousness, that later I second guessed. Why did I follow that impulsiveness? Was it a waste? 

 

Often we are not privy to the aftermath of our better moments. If rewards show up too consistently we come to rely on them, which misses the genuine blessing entirely. 

 

I can take my cue from the flowers. They fling their scent and color to everyone within reach, regardless of a crystal vase.