Goen - ご縁

ご縁　（ごえん） - Goen.

This is a word and a concept that I met with last night. The gentleman translated it for me as "few limited chances to see each other in the world". I suppose I would interpret this as "destiny", or perhaps karma. On the other hand, it could also be interpreted as a chance encounter.

I'm away on a business trip again and staying in a hotel in a suburb of Hamamatsu. There is not much in this area, and the best restaurant is an izakaya in the basement of this very hotel. While having dinner and a glass of wine last night, enjoying but not being overprotective of my solitude, a businessman struck up a conversation with me in English. His name was Matsuo. He has lived in the States for 10 years, working in the auto industry; he is now in the process of emigrating to the States. He says that his children have Japanese faces, but don't fit in here in Japan, since they argue with each other in English.

Matsuo-san said that our meeting was goen. It was perhaps fate. Or perhaps a mere chance encounter.

Either way, the meeting was a pleasant one, and is one of the things I enjoy when I'm on the road.