Growing With Strangers

“Avoid those who believe they are stronger than you, because they are actually concealing their own fragility.

Stay close to those who are not afraid to be vulnerable, because they have confidence in themselves and know that, at some point in our lives, we all stumble; they do not interpret this as a sign of weakness, but of humanity.

Avoid those who seek friends in order to maintain a certain social status or to open doors they would not otherwise be able to approach.

Stay close to those who are interested in opening only one important door: the door to your heart. They will never invade your soul without your consent or shoot a deadly arrow through that open door.

Friendship is like a river; it flows around rocks, adapts itself to valleys and mountains, occasionally turns into a pool until the hollow in the ground is full and it can continue on its way.

Just as the river never forgets that it’s goal is the sea, so friendship never forgets that its only reason for existing is to love other people”

(taken from “Manuscript found in Accra”)

I have been reading some posts from Facebook this morning and I have got stuck by these words by Coelho. I have also this great writer in “Live Streaming” feature of Facebook and it was great to see him in real time talking and discussing about his works while we as audience listen and sometimes make comments for him to read. Thank you Facebook!

Last night I have these “encounters” with strangers. I have been friends with them a few weeks ago and we are getting to know each by the days. One is a supervisor in an industrial area and we talked mostly of how his life is shaped by living here in the Kingdom. He is 55 years old and still working. I have asked him about retiring and maybe another decade is on his way before resting his body from the usual routine of office works. A few months ago I have talked to this 65 or 70 years old taxi driver. He is a Pakistani and he does not looked old as his age. I have a very good conversation with him in just about 35 minutes of ride. And I “pressured” him to go on retirement to enjoy life. He said that he is enjoying life making job as a taxi driver which is he doing for the rest of his 30 plus years of living as a worker. I admired his conviction and simple happiness that he choose to go on living and working not for the money anymore but for the time being.

Again last night I have this best conversation with a Lebanese guy. He owns a metal factory and a showroom near Corniche and I visited it last night. We have a very good exchange of ideas and opinions mainly about our life and about our professional role as of now. He also mentioned about their life in Lebanon and how most of the Lebanese flew abroad for a greener pasture. He also told about his hardwork before going to have such kind of business.

And I choose him to be one of my mentor in starting business of mine in the future.