People come and go in our lives. But a good number of them leave footprints behind. I have several people through the years who have made a deep impression, impact, and influence in my life. Each person had in a very special way helped shape my impressions, insights, and attitudes. The list is a long one spanning the breadth of my growing-up years to where I am now. Since I would be risking your getting bored with a long story, I’ve decided to cut it down to just five persons and put them on a list arranged in random order and not in the order of rank or importance (this is not a ranking list, I have to explain this or be taken to be unfair by some readers). The narration follows the progression of events as it transpired at certain points in my life. Also, it doesn’t mean that the others not mentioned are less important or valuable than the persons listed here. The descriptions are brief but I tried as best as I could to highlight each quality which stood out to make my life rich in a very special way. Thus, let’s move on with this.
Mister Priest
- An American priest who served in our parish church. He was different. He loved children. He laughed a lot at our games and antics like everything we did was the most natural thing in the world. Our parents, as most parents are, had so many rules for us– so many ‘don’t do this’, and ‘don’t do that’. But with him, we were kids, first and foremost. He would always cheerfully brush off Mom’s protest and tell her “Kids are only young once.” I cried bucketful of tears the day he flew back home to America.
Miss English/Literature Teacher.
(High school)
- She believed in me-- though she was hard on me with tough assignments, impromptu essays, poem interpretations which the rest wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole-- yet always pressing me onwards with the words “Make you shine.” I thought then that she had the grammar all wrong, but what I finally learned that what she really meant was –believe in yourself; give it your best shot. It was her way of making me remember with that short catchy phrase.
Mother
- Mom was Supermom. She left her teaching job to raise a family. (Dad wasn’t around most of the time because of his job.) Life for us was like a rollercoaster ride but she proved her mettle in every situation and difficulty. This was that crucial point in our family life when things went so bad. She stood as a pillar of strength and support in those most trying and difficult times, and believe me, there were lots of them. I learned much from her about courage - fortitude, flexibility - adaptability, resourcefulness, connecting with people, and of an unshaken and deep abiding faith in God. She’d say— “Learn to ride the wave“. I’ve learned the wisdom of those words when came my turn to face the big wide world outside.
My boss
- I joined the corporate world naïve and wet behind the ears. But one person stood out as a silent mentor or guru for me. He was my boss much longer than the other bosses I have had and was known to his peers and the ranks to have a casual hands-on approach to management. I was fortunate to see that close hand and learn from it, too. To make a long story short, he in a very special way contributed to my growth and development in the workplace – never one to dictate but instead gave me enough rope to exercise good judgment and make appropriate decisions on the job. He gently steered me in the direction where he saw would unleash potential and strength. He would nudge me on with-- “You can do it!” with the familiar gleam in his eye.
This is no. 5 –
but is nameless for now. You see, it is timed in the present and things aren’t finished yet – still evolving. Only time can tell if this person will make it to this list. But this person is definitely earning his/her spurs on my list of very special people. I am happy with this special presence in my life now. I will end up here for now but hoping to come back at some time in the future and put a name to no. 5. :-)
By the way, I'm tagging whoever reads this with your own story of your 5 special people :-) Do let me know when you've done it cause I'd be delighted to come over and see your own beautiful story. Have a good day!
posted on Sunday, January 29, 2006 6:15 PM
No comments:
Post a Comment