Fate shuffles the cards, and we play.

I am grateful.

We have no say in the hand we’re dealt. We are born into families without knowing how our parents and siblings will shape our lives. We grow, we form friendships, we navigate relationships—often through uncharted, difficult terrain. Yet, we make it through. We live to tell the tale, and some of us live long enough to tell many.

We cannot predict how the country of our birth will mold us. We don’t start life knowing its laws, its leaders, or how they will influence the way we live. And we certainly have no idea where life will take us.

But if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s this: the people we meet along the way make all the difference.

I am comfortable with 'strangers' because I choose to see them as potential friends. Have I made mistakes? Of course. I know what it feels like to be hurt, to be blindsided. But I also know that Karma is real.

But what I have gained is priceless. I have made friends from all walks of life, across the world—some of whom have become part of my inner circle. Some, I have never met in person. Others, I only met years after our friendships began. There are many I will never meet in this lifetime, yet our connection remains just as real.

Frank Crane once said, “A friend is someone with whom you dare to be yourself.” And that, to me, is the best part. I do not do well with masks. I want to see you, just as I want you to see me.

The Japanese, in their deep well of wisdom, believe that every human has three faces:

1. The one you show the world.

2. The one you show to friends and family.

3. The one you show to no one.

Wouldn’t the world be a better place if we didn’t feel the need to wear masks at all?

Which brings me back to strangers and friends. If I had lived in fear, keeping people at arm’s length, not willing to show myself without a mask, I would have missed out on some of the most extraordinary souls.

Thank you for walking with me. Thank you for joining me here.

As Ram Dass so beautifully said, “We are all just walking each other home.”

However long our paths may cross, I am grateful.