Once in a while, one gets to make acquaintance with a person with a beautiful personality. These kind of days are worth all the other days, that may not have been as good. Today was one of those days. The woman I met today inspired me, helped me see everything around me slightly differently and THAT, has made all the difference, I think.
I have always thought that, as an image consultant, I am the one on the ‘helping side’. For these rare, above mentioned ‘once in a whiles’ though, my position seems undecided, as this woman helped me, just about as much as I could ever have helped her.
She began with her story, telling it like it was no more than a mere tale, a story in a book, but it was all real, and she was extremely open about her experiences. That was the first thing intriguing about her, she trusted me with her story, me, a stranger to her, and there was something really touching in that one tiny gesture. She told me her story from the beginning, her birth into a typical Indian family, a family with strong beliefs that girl children were burdens. She was the first of three girls, and was to be married off as soon as possible.
She took charge, and for the sake of her two little sisters, fought against both, her parents, and her community, for her right to education. She completed her education, and went for engineering. A girl fighting was unheard of, as it is, but she went one step further and pursued her dream.
This kind of story, I have often observed, is usually accompanied with the kind of voice that one associates with complaints or regrets. I was surprised to detect absolutely none of the two in her voice as she told me her life story. There was an air of positivity to her, and it was almost as though you could absorb it, simply by standing there, or talking to her.
She came to me today, simply after reading my website, and endearingly revealed all she could about herself to me immediately. By the time she’d finished her story, she had also requested to start a session with me. The aftermath did not matter. Today was today, and she’d brave tomorrow as it came. I was still stunned by her attitude, and attitude so rare, a gem of true sorts.
Attitude is so important, and the trust she placed in me was huge. Those two things about this one woman made my day. She has taught me a lot more than she will ever know – about life, and attitudes, and mostly about holding my head high, even when circumstances say differently. I cannot encourage others to be who she is, when I have not gotten there myself, but I was inspired by her, I feel those who haven’t, or may never get to meet her, should also be just as privileged to simply ‘know’ about her, as I am.
Babita Jaishankar 