or Meeting Former Colleagues in Other Locations

I am continually amazed and impressed with the world and my place in it.

This photo has absolutely nothing to do with where I’ve been this week. It’s actually from El Nido and was taken during my birthday a few years ago.

It is one of quite a few photos that goes someway to illustrating my point. Stunning isn’t it?

One of the things that amazes me is how small the world really is and I am only reminded of this when I meet someone in another country to where I first met them.

This is in contrast to when I’m planning a trip and I realise how big the world is and wonder how I am going to experience all of it in one lifetime. From deserts to sea, mountains to canyons, snow to searing heat and that’s just the part nature plays. Then there’s the architecture, history, culture, foods, activities, people… no wonder I can find it overwhelming.

Over the past few days, I’ve been going back and forth between these feelings for a couple of reasons. On Thursday, I attended a Women in Business Summit in Tokyo. Over lunch a woman came past the table I was sitting at and looked at me quite closely before leaving again. She came back later to introduce herself. I should say “reintroduce herself”. As it turns out, I had hired her over ten years ago into an entirely different company in Sydney where she had been based at that time. I am fairly easy to spot in a predominantly Japanese crowd, she recognised me and took a minute to realise from where. Another former colleague, who I also hired, is now also back in Tokyo so we are arranging a reunion lunch.

A few weeks prior, I had another former colleague recognise me as I left the train station. He messaged me through LinkedIn and we’ve since reconnected. I’m fairly easy to spot in the train station too. This is a person I invited from our Japan office at the time to join my own team on a secondment.

I’ve had this happen numerous times when I lived in Hong Kong too and it generally seems to be with people I’ve either recruited or relocated.

Coming into the tail end of the year, it’s also a time where I think about travel and where I would like to go next. To help narrow my choices, I try to think about what climate I would like to experience and what activities I may be interested in doing based on my current level of exhaustion / exhilaration.

I like to experience new places though sometimes it is great to go with those that I’m familiar as it can be more restful. I’m fortunate to be able to even have these types of decisions to make!

What I find particularly interesting, and something which I am really amazed by, is that no matter where in the world I go, I either meet old friends or make new ones.

The world is small.

I am fortunate.

* Thanks to Disney for the title to this post. I’m not sure it was originally their song however I haven’t been able to find a source to confirm otherwise.