I took this picture of a car in front of me during a morning commute a few days back. It made me think what this car tells me about its owner. Usually, when I am on the road, I see people in expensive cars all the time. Some of them love to brag about their cars. But what does it tell me about them? Unfortunately, many of us don’t understand the difference between ‘me’ and ‘mine’. Some are too busy making a living to care. It’s easy to confuse between these two though. In interviews, when candidates are asked to tell about themselves, most of the time they talk about the responsibilities they had in their previous positions and the certifications that they have. And, maybe this is exactly what the interviewers expect to hear. But our lives generally doesn’t work that way all the time. And that is because not all interactions we have with others are interviews. The only thing we carry with us is who we are, not what we have. Or in other words, our identity. And the only thing that defines who we are is what we care about! I don’t know what degrees or job title this person has (honestly, I even don’t know the gender of the driver), I don’t know the size and price of the house he/she lives in, I don’t know how many expensive cars he/she uses and I don’t know which phone or camera he/she uses. But I know one thing for sure. This person cares about education. And it doesn’t take a big investment in terms of time and money to tell your story. It’s just the small gestures that matter.
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It was a November weekend and we were about to leave our house to attend a party with our friends. Just before stepping out, my wife met with the biggest problem of her life – which coat she should wear! It was a theme party and the theme was the color blue. My wife had a blue coat, but blue is just not her favorite color. Moreover, it is an old coat that she wore may be at hundred parties. She really wanted to wear the green one that she bought the previous week. It has an attractive design that she fell in love with at first sight. And, most importantly, she didn’t get a chance to show it to her friends yet. However, it was a little lighter considering the low temperature outside and it was not going that well with her dress either. It was indeed a cold evening. So I suggested her to wear the big white coat that would protect her troubled throat, though it might not be the best coat to wear at a glamorous party. She was really confused. The blue one? The green one? Or the white one? Actually, she was confused about a more basic and fundamental point regarding what she should wear – what others expect her to wear, what she wants to wear or what she needs to wear? In other words: to fit in, to stand out or to just be herself? Sometimes we all get confused with these three types of possessions that we keep accumulating over time - what others expect us to have, what we want to have and what we need to have. The question is, is the time and effort to accumulate things and then the time and effort to choose from them always worth? Is there a simpler way? |
AuthorAbhimanyu Gupta lives in Chesterfield, Missouri with his wife Nilanjana & son Anusurya. His profession is software testing and his passion are music and books. He can be reached via Email, LinkedIn or Facebook. Archives
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