Put two ships in the open sea, without wind or tide, and, at last, they will come together. Throw two planets... — Jules Verne

Put two ships in the open sea, without wind or tide, and, at last, they will come together. Throw two planets into space, and they will fall one on the other. Place two enemies in the midst of a crowd, and they will inevitably meet; it is a fatality, a question of time; that is all.

Author: Jules Verne

Insight: There's something oddly comforting and terrifying in this idea: that collision is inevitable. Not because the universe is malicious, but because everything that exists exerts a pull on everything else. Eventually, paths cross. Debts get paid. Conversations happen. The person you've been avoiding at work will somehow end up in the elevator with you. What makes this quote stick is that it works for connection too, not just conflict. That person you were supposed to meet, the opportunity that seemed lost, the conversation you needed to have—they might circle back. We live as though time is infinite, that we can postpone things forever, but Verne reminds us that in a finite space, drift only lasts so long. Two ships will meet. The question isn't whether, but when, and whether you'll be ready when they do. The practical takeaway cuts deeper than it first appears: stop betting on permanent avoidance. Clean up old conflicts now rather than letting them orbit closer. Reach out to people who matter before "fatality" makes the choice for you. In our scattered, distracted lives, we underestimate how small the world really is—and how few the degrees of separation between where we are and where accountability lives.