Ever wondered why you suddenly stop seeing certain people in your life? Be it a breakup or a gradual drifting apart, it may feel like this person just upped and disappeared from your life, never to be seen again. There is no last conversation, no planned goodbye, just silence. In an attempt to explain this phenomenon, TikTok came up with a theory to explain this: “the last meeting theory.”
The theory suggests that once two people have learned the lessons they were meant to learn from one another, and they have fulfilled their purpose in each other’s lives, the universe ensures that they never cross paths again. It’s to the point where you could be living in the same city, attending the same college, even sharing mutual friends, yet somehow never run into each other. According to this theory, the absence isn’t a coincidence; it’s a sign from the universe that the chapter is over.Â
While there’s no scientific evidence to support this idea, there’s something undeniably comforting about it. It allows you to stop chasing closure from people who were never meant to stay. Instead of waiting around for one final reunion or explanation, you begin to accept that maybe the connection gave you exactly what you needed at the time. Not everyone who comes into our lives is meant to stay permanently. Some people just show up briefly to show us what we were missing, to challenge us, or to serve as a guide through a particular time. Regardless if their role is temporary, it doesn’t make the connection any less real nor important. If anything, it makes it intentional.Â
Whether or not you believe in the universe orchestrating these exits, there’s a value in recognizing how each connection shapes us. Maybe what we perceive as a loss is just the universe giving us room to grow and evolve to who we are becoming next. The healthiest thing we can do is to just listen and accept. Sometimes, we must carry forward the lessons learned into the next chapter—not the person.Â