LOOK, NO ONE SAID ANYTHIING ABOUT ME...

Pic.: Rajiv Sharma

“Remember, this meeting never took place.”…

“Remember, this conversation never took place.”

Whenever I have come across this movie dialogue, I have immensely liked it. The person saying this wants to convey: Look, it is private… only between you and me. No one else should come to know about it.

When I think of this dialogue, I feel very inspired, too. The reason for that is: It is the fear of what people will think… and what might be its consequences… yes, that makes us tensed, all the time.

For example, if someone says something nasty about me, in public, I might feel offended or angry. I might even react to it, immediately. If the same thing is said in private, when there is nobody around, I might take it a lot differently…

So, it is clear from this, that the value we have attached to other people’s opinion… yes, it makes all the difference.

Is it possible for us to separate what someone says about us from our interpretation about it?

It is interesting… 

If my mood is nasty, even some mild words 

are enough to sound and sting them as nasty…

On the other hand, if my mood is peppy, even the most caustic words can just pass over my shoulders, like the evening breeze!

So, is it possible to really imagine, when someone says something very nasty about us, that he did not say that at all? More so, when he has said it in public view?”

Maybe, difficult… but, quite possible.

I have seen this working… and, making me feel a lot good about myself. But, yes, not very often, that is…

Today, someone did say something very ‘offending’ about me in others’ presence… Luckily, my mood was peppy… and I remembered the movie dialogue – “Look, this conversation did not take place, at all” – and, I smiled…

The breeze just passed over my shoulders…

The meeting had never taken place…

No one had said anything.

GERALD D’CUNHA