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September 13, 2005
On Being Ourselves
A few days ago I had a wonderful chat to a young cancer patient named Tatum. Tatum has lost her hair due to chemotherapy and she was telling me why she refuses to wear a wig.
“It’s not me,” she said. “I feel like I’m pretending to be someone else when I wear a wig and that makes me feel uncomfortable inside. Why can’t people just be themselves instead of trying so hard to make an impression on other people? ”
“Yeah, you’re right.” I said. “A lot of people set themselves up for failure because they try to emulate someone else like movie stars or models. It never works out because as much as you try, you are who you are and you can’t be someone else unless you’re a clone.”
“That’s so true. The funny thing is I can tell immediately when someone is being fake,” She replied. “It’s really obvious.”
My conversation with Tatum reminded me of a story my cousin Searle once told me:
It was about a teenage student who got a great job as a telephone sales person in a big computer company. Although it was only a summer job, the student had her sights set on working at the company after graduating from college. She decided that making her mark as an intern would give her a great chance of having a permanent job with the company.
She wanted to make a HUGE impression on her first day and took the opportunity to do so when she suddenly heard footsteps in the hallway outside her office. Without hesitation she grabbed the phone and pretended she was speaking to someone on the other end.
"Yes sir," the student said into the phone. "Twenty thousand dollars is a big order. I'm glad to be of service to you."
As she was speaking a man entered her office. She motioned for him to sit down. She continued talking on the phone.
The man sat down.
"Thank you for placing the order sir," she said into the phone and smiled at the man sitting in the chair. She lifted her finger and indicated that she wouldn’t be long. The visitor nodded and waited patiently.
She continued speaking on the phone. "Yes, I'm sure the company will be extremely happy with my performance. Twenty thousand dollars is a big order. Goodbye sir, and thanks again."
Replacing the phone, the student looked up at the man sitting across from her and said, "I'm very sorry to keep you waiting. How can I help you?"
"I'm here to connect your phone said the man. "I'm from the telephone company and your line is disconnected. I'll have it up and running in two minutes, ready for your next deal."
Posted by trevor at September 13, 2005 09:03 AM
Comments
Apocryphal or not, that's a great story. Thank you.
Posted by: E.K. at September 13, 2005 06:17 PM
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Ah...such wisdom from such a wee one.
But then again, don't the wee ones know Truth?
Ah, but what do I know...I am just an old Gypsy woman ;)
natashcha...madame babushka
Posted by: madame babushka at September 13, 2005 10:11 PM