Friday, August 28, 2015

Conversations we never had

I really don't know what makes a person great. I always equated greatness with kindness. If a person is warm enough to engage a complete stranger and hold a random conversation for more than 30 minutes, that person was great in my thesaurus. Maybe this has something to do with my mother's nature. She could always talk to everyone and fortunately, she does. I think she picked that up from her mother. So, my definition of greatness has been quite underachieving, if you like. There are times when we want to look at those who are doing far better than we are. People who are excelling and pushing their threshold on an everyday basis. It's not just about the salary one gets at the end of a month. These people i'm talking about don't have to be popular per se. It could be anyone from that colleague who refuses to consume saturated fat to a lady who has the balls to say no. But the bottomline, is can they make others feel welcome in their presence? Can they share their brightness? Can they dodge human weaknesses for once? I'm saying so after trying to understand my species for more than a quarter of a century now. Yes, 29+ isn't really old but it's not really young either. By the age of 25, you get an idea what is going on not only with you but also with those you notice from a distance. People nowadays can't really talk much without an agenda. Or unless they are put into a train compartment with no choice left but to interact with their co-passengers. I think my definition of greatness is tested by time now more than ever before. 

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