Something of Myself
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
There was one striking similarity - almost equal. The perpetual effort to integrate. To include. It made me feel cold, with surprise at the sameness and a numbing reminder of my loss.
Given today's multiculturalism and all those things, integration has somewhere lost its humane touch. It's really about everyday affairs - of friendship, marriage, broken marriages and all sorts of relationships. To make it work you need to integrate. To break it, you need to just do the opposite. Here was a man, in his early 50s perhaps, quite capable of sucking up to life's luxuries, but leaving them behind, quite deliberately, to integrate...to include...to instill a sense of belonging.
There was so much anticipation before the meeting. Decoding sessions. At times, even questioning the integrity or perhaps the purpose of it all...Fear of the unknown. Alas, it was all put to rest with some warm smiles...a gentle touch...and two slices of lemon!
I feel strange. The meeting was too short. Tales untold. Doubts uncleared. Questions unanswered. But at least, I know, this time around, I have the option of reaching out...I keep telling myself - 'There is a phone...and you can call a number...and a voice will answer...'
I wish he was around too. He would have been pleasantly surprised at the sameness. Almost equal.
Given today's multiculturalism and all those things, integration has somewhere lost its humane touch. It's really about everyday affairs - of friendship, marriage, broken marriages and all sorts of relationships. To make it work you need to integrate. To break it, you need to just do the opposite. Here was a man, in his early 50s perhaps, quite capable of sucking up to life's luxuries, but leaving them behind, quite deliberately, to integrate...to include...to instill a sense of belonging.
There was so much anticipation before the meeting. Decoding sessions. At times, even questioning the integrity or perhaps the purpose of it all...Fear of the unknown. Alas, it was all put to rest with some warm smiles...a gentle touch...and two slices of lemon!
I feel strange. The meeting was too short. Tales untold. Doubts uncleared. Questions unanswered. But at least, I know, this time around, I have the option of reaching out...I keep telling myself - 'There is a phone...and you can call a number...and a voice will answer...'
I wish he was around too. He would have been pleasantly surprised at the sameness. Almost equal.
