Very Nice Meeting You

I was introduced to someone recently at a social thing, here, in this decidedly next-chapter

community, and she asked me, as strangers often ask other strangers here,

”So, what did you used to do?”

And I said,”I used to strive to make people happy and I’m still pretty good at it. 

How about you?” 

Annoying. Most people are shy and socially awkward and their first thought is to define you and put you into a measurable category. A job isn’t the sum of a person. It’s a part of the equation, nothing more, nothing less. 

In my career, I was a Creative Director in Marketing and Advertising as well as an Artist. And I’d hate to be summed up in that phrase and assumed to be whatever your vision of those words conjures up. I’ve known some really interesting, multifaceted Creative Directors but I’ve known just as many who were arrogant narcissists with marginal talent. And the Artist thing, well that’s totally up for grabs, depending on your points of reference. Whatever the case, I don’t like the idea of being defined at all, or defined by others based on a misinterpretation of a packaged title which, depending on how you hear it, says more about the asker than the askee.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately because a lot of working people I know are finding their jobs and titles disappearing or being reinterpreted, so they don’t know what to call themselves, job-wise. And as for the next chapter people, many I’ve met are sooooo much more interesting and layered and complex than their former job titles would imply.

I’d rather learn if someone is kind, intelligent, funny, sensitive, thoughtful...worth knowing. So here’s a thought. How about the next time you meet a stranger and you would like to get to know more about them, why not ask them about music or food or books or art or if they’re shy or if they’re adventurous or have they ever climbed mountains or have they ever been in a balloon or how do they like their french fries? Questions that require more of an actual answer. Don’t speed date though life. Take the long road. It makes for a more beautiful and interesting adventure.

Who knows, maybe you’ll actually get to know a little something about someone you’d like to know better. Imagine that. Now, tell me about yourself...

“The purpose of life is to discover your gift. The work of life is to develop it. The meaning of life is to give your gift away.”

— Dr. David Viscott