Expect the Unexpected

Life has a funny way of taking us places we never planned to go. We make plans. We set timelines. We imagine how things are supposed to happen. And then, somewhere along the way, life changes the direction.

Sometimes, the unexpected comes as an opportunity we never thought would be ours. Sometimes, it comes as disappointment; a closed door, a changed plan, or a moment that makes us question everything. I used to think that having a plan meant knowing exactly where I was going.

Now, I think differently. Some of the most meaningful parts of my journey were never part of the original plan. They came from saying yes to something unfamiliar, taking a chance when I wasn't completely ready, or simply continuing when I couldn't see what was waiting around the corner.

Maybe that is one of life's quiet lessons:

Make your plans. Chase your dreams. Work hard for what you want.

But leave a little room for the unexpected.

Because sometimes the road you never planned to take leads you somewhere you never imagined you could go.

One of those unexpected moments found me in 2025, during a research visit to the Vedda community of Wakarei in Sri Lanka. It was supposed to be another day of fieldwork. But suddenly, the community leader told us that a traditional ceremony was taking place deep inside the forest. He asked a few community members to take us there. And just like that, we were walking into the forest toward an experience I hadn't planned for, expected, or even known was possible that morning. No carefully prepared plan. I simply followed the path that opened in front of me.

Eventually, we arrived at the ceremony.

Standing there, in the middle of the forest, I realized that I was experiencing something I would probably remember for the rest of my life. What makes it even more meaningful to me is where my journey has taken me. Today, my research allows me to learn alongside Indigenous communities in two very different parts of the world; from Vedda communities in Sri Lanka to Inuit communities in the Arctic.

I could never have imagined this journey when I first started. And yet, when I look back, some of my most unforgettable experiences were never part of the plan. This photographs remind me of one of them.

Unexpected. Unplanned. Unforgettable.

Perhaps that is the beauty of not knowing exactly what comes next.