Many years ago, someone told me that strangers are friends you have yet to come to know. It was an ‘aha’ moment back then. How true isn’t it? ‘Stranger’ becomes a temporary word used to describe someone we do not know by name. If we know the name of a person, that person would become an associate or an acquaintance or in a more intimate term – a friend.

If strangers are friends you have yet to come to know, how would you have treated strangers or people you are meeting for the first time? Would you have treated strangers with the same intimacies that you used for treating friends? With love, kindness and respect.

Some people would have said that they don’t treat all friends the same way; it depends on the closeness of the friends. And some people would say, “We can choose a friend. If we don’t like the person, we can choose not to be associated with him/her again.” Indeed, when we are choosing friends, we have a choice to a large extent. We can just let the person we dislike be remained as a working associate with no personal relation other than work.

Then recently, while I was reading Mitch Albom’s book, ‘The Five People You Meet in Heaven,’ he mentioned in his book, “Strangers … are just family you have yet to come to know.” Mitch Albom has brought the meaning of ‘stranger’ to a higher level – to one which we do not have a choice.

Just as the saying goes, “one cannot choose ones father and mother or siblings or relatives.” Everyone comes as a package when you were born. Over the past 33 years, I am grateful to be showered with unconditional love and compassion whether it is from my parents, siblings and relative.

For one who has experience unconditional love and compassion from family, should I not bestow the same unconditional love and compassion to strangers especially if strangers are family I have yet to come to know? Mitch Albom’s words put a new meaning to the word ‘stranger.’ A deeper and more intimate meaning.

Quoting something from Mitch Albom’s book, ‘The Five People You Meet in Heaven, “… there are no random acts. That we are all connected. That you can no more separate one life from another than you can separate a breeze from the wind.”

If Strangers are family you have yet to come to know, how would you be treating them? With the same unconditional love and compassion?

Often time you have heard people saying, “How could I forgive him so easily for what he has done to me” or “I couldn’t let the matter rest so easily, I must get back to him.” The intense negative feelings associated in these statement are enough to devour you from within. Anger and hatred are very intense negative feelings that eat you slowly from within, draining away all your positive energy.

From Mitch Albom’s book, ‘The Five People You Meet in Heaven,’ he wrote, “… Holding anger is a poison. It eats you from inside. We think that hating is a weapon that attacks the person who harmed us. But hatred is a curved blade. And the harm we do, we do to ourselves.” How true isn’t it? Remember the times when you are angry or hated someone? The more intense your anger or hatred, the more it hurts from within you, isn’t it?

The truth of the fact is that we need to forgive. Forgiving doesn’t mean to condone with the act of the other person. It simply releases us from the negative feelings and allow us to take control from within and in return you will receive untold peace and happiness as what Robert Muller said.

Do yourself a favor today; give yourself the gift of forgiveness and to let go of whatever negative feelings within you and fill it up with love instead. And as mentioned in the post, Forgiveness, “It is the best gift you can give to yourself and you can benefit greatly from it too.”