Saturday, December 03, 2011

A Conversation I Had Last Night


Last night at a social gathering, I was seated next to a couple who originally hailed from a country in Latin America and they had been residing overseas for 15 years. This was our first formal meeting (we had seen one another at my work, at swim lessons for our children, and we had spoken casually in passing for many months) and we quickly engaged in conversation. We discussed our families, our home countries and cultures, our professions and other topics. The conversation flowed easily. The husband then asked me, "Ryan, where do you see yourself in 3-5 years?" I've been asked this question frequently over the years, especially working internationally. It's a common topic of conversation, where is one looking to move next? I took this question to say, "Ryan, where do you see yourself professionally, location or otherwise in 3-5 years?" I shared my answer about my future plans and I quickly followed it with the quote I often say when discussing future plans, "People plan, God laughs." When I turned the question around and asked my tablemate the question he posed of me he provided me with probably the most different and enjoyable response I had ever received to the question, "Where do you see yourself in .... years?" And, an answer that I would like to share. In responding, my tablemate took his time, pondered the question, visibly collected his thoughts and thoughtfully produced the following, "I see myself more intuitive in regards to my children, more in tune with their needs and desires. I see myself trying to attain a higher state of inner peace because the more peace one has within one's self, the more free and comfortable one is to achieve many things. I see myself being more open; giving more space in my life to allowing life to happen, establishing less boundaries and restrictions, and being more open to all possibilities. When I feel all of these things have taken place, then I will know where and what I need to do next."

I told my new friend how much I enjoyed his thoughtful response and at this, he and his wife both smiled.

It's good to talk to people and to hear where they are coming from and where they are going. It was a good evening.

1 comment:

Dick said...

A very nice post, Ryan. I really like the sentiments.
Dick