Travel Tales- Amsterdam

Friends ask me how people strike a conversation deeply the minute, they cross paths with me. I don't have an answer but my experiences push me to continue to trust as I cross paths.

On a windy day, I strolled in the streets of Amsterdam, just returning from a windmill's place where I was intentional in celebrating friends' birthdays who are far away across the sea.

Passing the canals, I kept strolling, absorbing the space and the sounds it had to offer. There's a lot of hustle and crowd. I kept walking watching around. Suddenly, I saw an art gallery and entered it without a second thought.  I was awestruck by the paintings.An intimate experience to see the paintings all by myself without any distraction. Later, a lady walked in striking a conversation.

We began our conversation on how intimate and vulnerable the works are. Proud of her husband's work, she shared the stories behind the paintings. 10 minutes into conversation, Amy shared her teenage love story of how she met Tim when she was 19 and how she decided that he's her man.

Trying to be as attentive as possible, I listened to her and was keen to know her honestly.

She said,"you are the first person to witness these works of Tim before it's out for the exhibition. A lot of them are already sold. None of the buyers got to see the originals. You just saw the originals and read his words."

Besides being the kindest, humble soul, he's the art director of Imagine Dragons. Imagine Dragon's works and concerts has his works. An acclaimed artist. Having a chance to interact with his work in such a special way, Amy&i knew it's a special moment. Why did she trust me to check his work before the exhibition unveils? I don't know.

I felt grateful to have such an encounter. As Tim arrived when Amy and I were into conversation, we exchanged a lot of heartfelt conversations. We spoke about their early days, inspirations, frame hunts, lonely nights spent in paintings and a lot more. Before I left, I got the first copies of his works in print,signed.

Again, do they need to gift me before the exhibition even gets started? I don't know.

Having such heartfelt deep conversations, I intend to interact with utmost honesty and attention whenever I cross paths. It's sad to miss those in-person conversations with the loved ones for strange and range of reasons.