2016.

Sitting at a lunch table in my office. Usually I eat on time (i.e., 12:30 PM) which is early for a lot of people, so I am just by myself.

This fine day, I saw a colleague sitting on a table. I walk up to that table and sit there. With the hope of sharing a laugh or having a good conversation, we end up doing nothing. Because he just doesn’t want to talk. Maybe he’s too occupied in his mind with work. Angry with someone. Whatever the reason be, we don’t talk aka my initiation is not even responded. Not even the presence is acknowledged by making an eye contact.

I move on. As my first year roommate rightly taught me, “What’s the point of getting affected by people if you don’t have to get married to them?” As ‘lol’-worthy that statement was, it has helped me immensely.

Fast forward to today morning: 2020

I get a message from that very ex-colleague. It was in response to a WhatsApp story I had shared about a job opening.

We exchange pleasantries, share a dialogue or two of “haha”, and then we’re done.

A part of me wants to reconnect with that old colleague. Wants to listen to their struggles. Wants to lend an ear to their pains. Wants to let them know that they are not alone. For no reason at all, just the acknowledgment of a shared human connection.

Yet, I do not try to open the door that they had closed on me. Not because I was wearing a mask of ego. Had that been the case, I won’t have shared the job details with them. Rather because, I was vulnerable with them and was not taken in the right light.

And standing for yourself is the best gift you could give to yourself. This is a small thing.

Let’s break barriers with those who don’t create new ones. Right?