Identifying oneself

 Identity is carved out in association, rather than in isolation. This is one fact that struck me hard and strong years ago when I was preparing a paper on the Salesian Brother.  

Often we think that in order to make ourselves stand out we need to be apart from the rest.  But even there, without the other(s), we do not have a measuring yard.  

Understood in this context, the invitation of Jesus to lose oneself, in order to find who we truly are, makes perfect sense.  Only when we understand all and everyone around us, do we begin to make sense of ourselves!

Borrowed impressions

 In Hyderabad, for quite some years now, there is this ritual one gets to notice practically every morning, all across the city.  There is the municipality garbage van that goes around collecting garbage, door to door.  Nothing unusual about that itself, except that the van has a 'wake-up call'.  A particular tune and song that is played, followed by a message calling upon the ladies of the houses to bring out the garbage.  

Initially I never 'heard' it! Once someone commented on it at table and since then everytime I heard it, I felt annoyed and irritated by it.  Now after a couple of years, I don't 'hear' it again! Not that they have stopped announcing or changed the call sign, it is just that my ears don't pick it up.  

I realised the initial annoyance at that particular sound was because the negative observation and comments I first heard about it.  Not that I personally made an opinion.  I merely imbibed and assimilated that negative impression.  Now, on those rare occasions, that I hear the song and the message, there is still a bit of that awkward feeling, but not as strong as before.