I had the very pleasant task a few weeks ago of having a meeting with some amazing people.
All of them believed in me and my dream of ending gender-based violence and they were all focused on how to help me.
I have known most of them for most of my life and a few of them not that long, but we all seemed to gel and the conversation was lively and productive.
No one got their feelings hurt or had a hissy fit or stormed out of the room.
It was as great as great could be.
We did not push our agenda; rather we were all looking at the big picture and how to get me to that point with my work.
One of the attendees really stood out.
His voice was soft and caring but packed a punch when he did choose to speak.
He had the unique ability to assimilate information and repurpose it in a calm and peaceful manner.
That being said, he was not afraid to be outspoken and call a “rhetorical” question, when he heard it.
The day after the meeting, I was replaying how the evening went and I realized something.
This person, who stood out, did so because he was extremely comfortable with his intellect. He was NOT afraid to say what he did not understand, to claim what he did and to cast aside want was not important to the conversation.
He never got caught up with the many side issues that were thrown out; rather he called them as unnecessary and brought the players back to the fore.

The way I began to think of his performance was like a warrior not needing to unsheathe his very sharp sword.
Everyone could see the sword, we all knew that he was a slayer of previous dragons and yet, he did not wield it about. Rather, he never even pointed to it. He allowed his calm and quiet to speak louder than the sword we all recognized.
He never made anyone feel like they had to defend their weapons or flash them around.
I was delighted that I got to see such skills in action.

We were all tired by the end of the night and yet, we all kept the respect for each other on our sleeves, in good public view.
Perhaps I can learn to keep my weapons sheathed so that my super powers don’t kill, even when they are only intended to help.

Let’s learn to sheath our swords called:
Sarcasm
Smarter than you
Racism/exclusion
Be the center of attention

Let’s unsheathed the swords called:
Joy
Bliss
Inclusion
US-ness
Cooperation

It simply takes being aware.

Love and light,
Indrani