Listen and Pass it On by Simba Srinath
I speak a lot, and my parents always referred to me as the noisy kid or the family spokesperson; I spoke for everybody. I always had an opinion about everything and I had to be consulted on all matters, which as you might guess never happened. I never realized the amount of decisions an adult makes, but as a kid I felt I was the queen and no one ever treated me any lesser. But as I grew older, I changed a lot and it often amuses me; there are still some things that I am learning, or should I say, unlearning.
“But as I grew older, I changed a lot and it often amuses me; there are still some things that I am learning, or should I say, unlearning.”
Being a writer is bewitching in so many ways. It makes you change ways and adds new dimensions to your personality, and I am not even talking about the effect it has on people. I have had reactions starting with, “Oh!” to “How awesome is that!” and I bite my tongue and tell myself not to be judgmental at such times. But so much of what I write comes from people around me, usually from an average joe just like me. It might be the person I share a laugh with at the grocery store, or someone who’s getting a pedicure right next to me, or just a fellow flight passenger. They might have never made into any kind of news headline anywhere or won awards or something, but they have some of the most incredible stories and it never stops amazing me.
The fascinating part for me is shutting my mouth, while keeping my heart and ears wide open. It is extremely hard for me to do just that, especially when I am itching all over to jump right in and share “Oh, that’s so true” and, “There was this time…” But I am learning and am slowly accepting that it is so much fun when you let the other person do all the talking. Yeah, sure sometimes I allow myself to be questioned and give into some self-indulging talk, but my focus is on the person I am speaking with. Initially it was hard to keep making them talk, but now I have grown smarter. I ask questions, a lot of them. Starting with their career to work to hobbies to family to everything they love to share, I end up seeing some photographs of their loved ones too. It’s such a warm fuzzy feeling about sharing your emotions with a stranger when you are ten thousand feet above the ground. Better still when you have a woman sitting next to you, especially a little older, you are pretty set for a long flight - latch up, close the book and get comfortable in your seat. If I am lucky, I get their email addresses and we send each other an occasional email here and there, but most importantly for me, it is the experience and learning. I discover so many things about others, myself and life in general.
“I discover so many things about others, myself and life in general.”
There was a time when I flew with this really smart and striking older woman, she was breathtakingly beautiful; I had to stop and stare. And she was so nice, she shared some of her skin secrets and also how she keeps active and healthy. She also filled me in on her travels around the world and introduced me to ‘Lamaze’ which I had never heard of! And getting some tips from a fellow passenger, a mechanic who gave me insight into the world of motorbikes, women, marriage, life and adamancy! He had broken his leg about a fortnight or so ago, and his cast had just come out that day; here he was flying from Canada to pick up a truck and drive it all the way back. And I thought I was adamant!
It is amazing even in this age of television, and internet, we are still so ignorant about so many things. And a great way to explore that world and discover new facets about ourselves would be to chat up with the next person while checking out at the store; you may not find your soul-mate or a life-long friend, better still if you do, but you will surely walk away with a bunch of life-long lessons to carry and pass it on.
Simba is a recent MBA graduate from Duke. She finds herself dabbling with words and life. Business woman, engineer, author, volunteer, counselor, friend, lover, student - all these and more, packed into every single day.
More of her ramblings on www.simbarulez.com
