Today I want to share something with the world that is very precious for me. I think I am writing this piece more for myself than anyone else. I want to talk about the man who changed my life. It might sound like a cliché to some but then you’re welcome to move on to the next article or actually stick with me for a while.
I met this man few years ago and found him very profound and an extremely sensitive human being. In my opinion a little too sensitive; which didn’t quite match his personality or, in other words, the first impression he gave. But then it’s not wise to judge a book by its cover, right? Anyway, he taught me about many different aspects of life and mainly, how to deal with them. But one lesson that I cherish the most is how he taught me to be wise and sensible. He showed me how to approach life in a diplomatic manner, in a neutral way; how important it is to listen to people around us and to give them my time, my attention and most importantly the respect they deserve. My emotional argument was that some people just don’t deserve my time; that I want nothing to do with them. Ever. And he taught through his actions how much important that is; not for people only but even for our own self. It is a very self gratifying act. And of course, I learned this over the years and I hold this very close to my heart.
The next thing that I learned from him was to be patient. I had always believed that my thirteen odd years of teaching had taught me to be patient but when I actually think about it, the lesson came from him. I do admit I am not as patient as I should be or as he would like me to be but I make a conscience effort to do so. It’s all about training your mind at the end of the day. It is very easy to lose your temper, the sang froid flies out of the window within a matter of minutes when triggered, but the momentarily slip of emotion tends to result in a significant damage. There have come times when all I wanted to do was slap the next person hard across the face (for acting like a jerk) but then, at the back of my mind, I would hear this man’s soft yet strong voice saying: Sarah, take it slow. This act of taking it slow is torturous! But worth every single second and breath. He made me understand that living life is an ongoing process; everyone does it, they have to do it. But to live life happy and sensibly and on my terms is what matters the most. And for that, I am grateful to him.
Another fabulous thing he taught me to do was to live. We as human beings, tend to shift our focus, tend to prioritize many things that take us away and create distance between us and our real goal: to live! Some of us start running after money, some after fame, success in professional life, some of us allow ourselves to be blurred by the different visions provided by various religions and so on and so forth. In the midst of all this, we forget the reason for our birth. I am in no way implying that having goals and objectives are unimportant, they all are but they maintain a certain place in our lives. We should not to let them get in the way of our living life. For instance, my profession is very important to be for various reasons: recognition, mental satisfaction, the bills, and a stable future. But at the same time, I try not to let my profession stop me from living. I do so by not taking extra pressure on myself, by not developing the greed of making more money than I need and by going on a break for few days every four to five months. People are born with different genes; they develop their interests or hobbies over the years and find pleasure in them. And I believe it is very important to pause from the hectic routine of life through these interests. It doesn’t have to be something extravagant, it could be reading or walking or cultivating or writing. The sky is the limit! I am eternally grateful to him for teaching me not to take life or people in it for granted. It is very important to appreciate and be thankful for what we have. It is very hard to satisfy a human being, we would always find faults and holes and gaps in our lives; something will always be missing, no matter what. But if we look at our own life from someone else’s eyes, we actually have the entire world. You have money one day, and then next day it could be gone. As a result you would find yourself in a very different position. Or it could be the other way round: you have no money today and tomorrow you could become the richest person on earth. So circumstances in life fluctuate constantly, for some the change is too fast and for some it is slow, but if anything is constant in a person’s life is it is change. And let’s not test this change!
So thank you, you wonderful, wonderful man for teaching me how to live by letting me live on my own terms; for allowing me to be what I am today. Because if it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be sitting where I am and writing this and doing so many other wonderful things. You taught me how to walk, how to talk, how to eat, how to smile and most importantly, how to give to others unconditionally. You are a generous human being; you are an even greater father. Thank you for letting me see the man behind the father face because that side of yours taught me so much more. I love you, papa.
The writer is a PhD French literature. She's now a professor of French settled in Canada.