Our society has so much focus on a "soul-mate" - one person who will fulfill and complete you, one person who will be your everything. I'm not saying I don't believe in soul-mates in this sense, or that I do. I'm honestly not sure.

The concept of the "holy encounter" is from A Course in Miracles. This blog is my interpretation.

The Holy Encounter is the idea is that every person, every relationship, no matter how long or how fleeting, has a predestined reason for existing.

And the reason is to teach you something along your spiritual journey.

Now, does this mean my interaction with someone at the grocery store or gas station is holy? The way I see it, either every interaction we have with someone is holy, or none of them are. Of course, some are more significant than others. The cool part is that we never know, until maybe one day we look back and remember the random encounter with a stranger that changed our life.

The person at the gas station, or your spouse, could both qualify as holy encounters.

I think you know who your people are.

I think you know the people who have come into your life for a period of time and affected you to your core. They changed you. Maybe they hurt you; maybe they loved you, but after the encounter, you emerged a different version of yourself.

The best shift in perspective that comes from believing in the holy encounter is that we are all of a sudden free. Relationships are no longer tied to an image or an outcome. We no longer label relationships that end as successes or failures, because there is no such thing. We no longer label ourself as a success or failure based on whether or not we are in a relationship.

If someone is in your life, lessons exist from your interactions with this person.

Likewise, you can start to see your role in helping others along their spiritual path. We have no idea the impact we may have on someone else - even if we have spoken to them for 5 minutes. Holy encounters don't need time. Holy encounters don't need vows or rings or wedding dresses.

Holy encounters can happen in an instant.

I have friends, relationships, and loved ones who I know are my soul-mates. Some came and went quickly, showing me that they were indeed, meant for me at that exact moment in time, and within that exact window. Some people have been in my life forever. Some encounters have been instantaneous, and I never even knew the person's name.

The other brilliant piece of the holy encounter is that we don't have any idea we are participating. We don't know what we do or say that might change the course of someone else's life. We don't get a letter from them in the mail explaining how much we helped or changed them.

We exist to interact with others. We exist to co-create with the Universe. We exist to form bonds, relationships, families, unconditional love, or a helping hand. We exist for ourselves, but also for every person we come in contact with.

Every relationship is a holy encounter. And you cannot screw it up.