HERE’S TO THE ONES WHO STAYED, THE ONES WHO LEFT… AND THE ONES WHO HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHAT’S COMING
By Dr. Amarjeet Singh @ AJ
Here is a thought that should stop you for a moment.
```You may meet thousands of people during your lifetime, but only a small handful will permanently change its direction.
```Think about that.
Out of all the people you will meet, your life may be transformed by only five, ten, or perhaps twenty of them.
One may become your closest friend.
One may open a door you never knew existed.
One may teach you what loyalty truly means.
And one may teach you never to ignore red flags again.
Life really is the world’s biggest networking event—except nobody gives you a name tag, a programme, or instructions on whom to avoid.
Life has a wicked sense of humour.
It introduces people the way supermarkets hand out free food samples.
Some seem wonderful for five minutes…
Until you get home and realise you never actually wanted the full packet.
Others arrive looking completely ordinary…
And somehow become the secret recipe you never knew your life was missing.
Relationships are funny that way.
Some do not even survive one Malaysian election campaign.
Some expire faster than complimentary parking at a shopping mall.
Some come with shorter warranties than the RM9.90 blender bought during an online flash sale.
You press the button twice…
There is smoke…
And suddenly everyone disappears.
A Toast to the Ones Who Stayed
Let us begin with the legendary human beings who stayed.
These people deserve certificates, medals, annual bonuses, and possibly hazard pay.
They survived our impossible schedules.
Our last-minute cancellations.
Our random business ideas at midnight.
Our twenty-minute voice notes that began with:
“I’ll keep this brief.”
They endured our terrible jokes—some of which probably deserved police investigation.
They watched us overthink.
Under-sleep.
Drink too much kopi.
Buy books we promised to read.
Start diets every Monday.
Cancel those diets by Monday afternoon.
And somehow…
They still answered our calls.
Those people are not merely friends. They are emotional superheroes with unlimited patience and excellent mobile-data packages.
They did not remain because we were perfect.
They remained because they understood us.
They saw the unfinished version, the confused version, the exhausted version, and the wonderfully untidy version…
And still chose to stay.
A Toast to the Ones Who Left
Now, let us raise a glass to those who walked away.
Thank you.
Seriously.
Because sometimes the greatest favour people do for us…
Is removing themselves from our lives before they cause even more unnecessary paperwork.
Some believed they were escaping an inconvenience.
In reality, they may have returned a winning lottery ticket without checking the numbers.
They saw an unfinished building and assumed it had no value.
They did not realise the foundations were already being strengthened.
The plans were being redrawn.
The workers were still inside.
And the grand opening had not even happened.
Time has an outstanding sense of delayed comedy.
It waits five years.
Ten years.
Sometimes twenty.
Then someone casually whispers:
“You know… perhaps I judged that person too quickly.”
By then, you have already changed.
You have already grown.
You have already met people who appreciate the qualities others failed to recognise.
Timing can be wonderfully sarcastic.
A Toast to the Lucky Rascals Who Have Not Met Us Yet
And finally, here is to the people who have yet to enter our lives.
Poor souls.
They have absolutely no idea what they are signing up for.
They are about to inherit unsolicited life lessons over kopi-O.
Unexpected road trips.
Random philosophical debates.
Conversations that begin with football…
Somehow move into leadership, relationships, politics, spirituality, workplace behaviour, and the meaning of life…
Before ending with someone ordering another roti tisu.
They will experience discussions that start at 9.00 p.m.
Someone will say:
“Just five more minutes.”
The next thing everyone knows, the mamak uncle is stacking chairs and the sun is preparing to report for duty.
These future friends will soon discover something remarkable.
The greatest friendships are rarely scheduled. They simply happen.
Like discovering an extra piece of chicken hidden beneath the nasi kandar gravy.
Or finding RM50 inside a jacket you have not worn for six months.
A small miracle.
Massive happiness.
The Mind-Boggling Part
Most people spend years searching for the “right people.”
```Yet almost every meaningful relationship in their lives began by accident.
```A wrong seat.
A new workplace.
A delayed flight.
A neighbour.
A university class.
A business meeting.
A comment online.
One unexpected introduction.
One ordinary “hello.”
Entire lives have changed simply because someone chose to sit in the empty chair next to another person.
Think about that.
Your future best friend may currently be a stranger.
Your future mentor may not yet know your name.
Your future business partner may be standing in a queue somewhere, checking a phone and wondering why the line is not moving.
The person who changes your entire life may be someone you have not met…
Yet.
Raise Your Glass to Authenticity
So raise your glass.
Not to perfection.
None of us even qualified for that competition.
Raise it to authenticity.
Raise it to the people who accept you without requiring an audition.
Raise it to those who stood beside you before the applause began.
Raise it to those who left and accidentally created space for better people.
And raise it to those who are still on their way.
Those who leave become stories.
Those who stay become family.
And those we have not met yet may become the greatest chapter we never saw coming.
Keep your heart open.
Smile at strangers.
Start conversations.
Leave an empty chair at the table.
You never know.
The next person you meet may not simply change your day.
They may quietly change your entire life.
Life is not measured by how many people knew your name.
```It is measured by how many people were genuinely grateful that they did.
```Dr. Amarjeet Singh @ AJ
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