Seeing each other first, before seeing our roles |
Recently, I met a suave young lady — a style consultant — over a coffee. It was a meeting that had been planned as part of a writing assignment, which is presently on pause. Given that the professional need to meet her wasn't pressing, I could have let the proposed engagement lapse into silence. But I chose to keep the appointment, because in my theory of relativity, connection need not be purely transactional, with a constant “what's in it for me?” hovering over every social interaction.
This idea may appear anomalous in a world that glorifies networking, where every shared space becomes a venue for business-oriented exchange. It might also go against the conventional wisdom on how to gather “useful” people in our lives. I deviated from those norms simply because I admired her work. Meeting her was my way of saying, “I honour........