If you read the title of this article, you may be rightfully wondering “what on Earth is a visit from the fay”? My friend and I began using this phrase to describe the random encounters you have with random people that fundamentally change your life. It may even seem as though fate put them right in your life at the exact moment you needed to run into them. Maybe they give you wisdom you needed to hear, or gave you comfort in a moment of despair. Whatever the reason, they altered your path for the better.
Visits from the fay are rare in nature. And maybe the encounter only lasts a moment. But you sure as heck won’t forget them!
This article describes one of my most memorable and lasting visits from the fay:
A visit from the fay in San Francisco
In 2019, put down a small deposit to secure a spot on a trek to Everest Base Camp but I was still on the fence about whether or not I would actually go. I was rapidly approaching the deadline where I would either have to put down the rest of the money, or remove myself from the group. Here’s the thing. The more I researched the trek, the more hesitant I grew.
The real nail in the coffin was learning that I would have to fly into what is largely regarded as “the world’s most dangerous airport’. My anxiety upgraded that short plane ride to ‘impending doom’ in my head, and I couldn’t shake it.
I was so nervous that I seriously considered backing out of the trip entirely.
On a gloomy, Saturday morning in San Francisco, I was tucked into The Fillmore Bakeshop. I came here most weekends to read and write in my journal. This particular morning, I planned to journal my way to a final decision about setting off for Nepal. But first, I cracked open my book to read a few pages of, ironically, Into Thin Air. For those who do not know, Into Thin Air is a true recount of the 1996 climbing disaster on Mount Everest. Note to readers: Into Thin Air is not the book to crack open when you are deciding whether or not you want to travel to Mount Everest.
Needless to say, Into Thin Air was not doing much to supplement the ‘Pros’ column of embarking on the trek. I read only a few pages before I heard a voice directed at me.
“Ohhh! Into Thin Air! That is one of my favorite books”.
I looked up to see an older woman in her late 60s pointing at my book with a smile. I told her how much I enjoyed reading it, and we chatted about the book for a while. Eventually she casually dropped this nugget:
“You know… I once had a chance to trek to Everest Base Camp. But I backed out at the last second because I was afraid. And that has been one of my biggest regrets”.
When I tell you my jaw hit the FLOOR.
To this day, mathematicians are still calculating the odds of me running into a woman in San Francisco who backed out of an Everest trek on the EXACT DAY that I secretly planned to back out of my own trip. I think, statistically, those odds are around 0%. Yet, here we were.
This, friends, is a visit from the fay.
I began telling her about my own hesitations. How I was nervous to travel across the entire world, how I was spooked by the altitude and, most significantly, how terrified I was to fly on that tiny damn plane. I explained how I made the grave error of looking up the history of crashes at that airport, and I was secretly worried I would never make it back home. The whole time I spoke, she nodded knowingly.
When I finished my stream of consciousness, she paused for a moment. Then, she started spitting truths.
“Every day you step outside of your house, you’re taking a risk. There’s no telling what might happen. And no matter how hard you try to control the Universe to prevent bad things or keep yourself from getting hurt, life has a sneaky way of doing whatever it wants regardless”.
Not exactly comforting… But she continued:
“Imagine how many of the meaningful parts of life occur at the edge of risk. If you protect yourself entirely from loss, you will never love. If you protect yourself entirely from failure, you will never grow. And if you let the fear of the unknown impact your decision, you will never find out what adventures await you in Nepal. I know for damn sure I regret never finding that out”.
I was practically in tears at this point. Because she was absolutely right.
We chatted for a bit more before she got up to go about the rest of her day. She had one hand on the cafe door when she turned back to my table and smiled knowingly.
“Have the best time on your adventure”.
I went straight home and booked the trip. And it was one of the best experiences of my life.
I wish I could tell you the woman’s name. I wish I could tell you that we still keep in touch to this day – or even that I was able to find her after my trip and say “I DID THE THING! AND IT WAS BECAUSE OF YOU”. But the truth is, I never saw her again.
It is remarkable to think that a stranger who I had only encountered for a whopping 20 minutes had such a profound impact on my life.
This is a visit from the fay – a person who comes into your life at the EXACT right moment and delivers the message you need to hear. These encounters don’t happen often. But they certainly have a lasting impact.
Keep your eyes peeled and your ears open and maybe, just maybe, you’ll be paid a visit from the fay too.
That’s all, folks
And so recounts the story of the time I experienced a visit from the fay in San Francisco. That small, 20-minute encounter entirely changed my life for the better. It encouraged me to step outside of my comfort zone and take a leap of faith.
Have you ever been paid a visit from the fay? Drop a comment below to share your story!
Interested in trekking to Everest Base Camp? Check out my other posts below!
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