For me, this new year starts with a beautiful lesson learnt from a small conversation between a fruit seller and a stranger. Totally the conversation would have lasted for just a minute but the impact and the outcome of it is huge.
A fruit seller was selling fruits in a wheelbarrow. A person came there buy some fruits. He enquired about the price of guava. The fruit seller replied "கிலோ இருவது ரூவா". He asked the fruit seller to give half Kg guava. The fruit seller weighed it, put it in a bag and gave him the bag.
The person took the wallet out of his pocket. There were a few hundred rupee notes and one five hundred rupee note. He took a hundred rupee note, waved it at the fruit seller and asked him "சில்ரை இருக்கா?". The fruit seller looked him up and down. He didn't reply anything. He just shook his head up and down, nodding that he has money to give him the balance.
The stranger gave the fruit seller a hundred rupee note. The fruit seller took out a plastic cover bundle out of his pocket. The person looked at his bundle. I wonder whether he felt, that the fruit seller's wallet is bigger than that of his. While the fruit seller was counting money to give him the balance, he took an apple and was contemplating whether to buy it or not. The fruit seller took his turn now and asked, "அது கிலோ இருநூறு ரூவா. காசு இருக்கா?". The question left the stranger dumbstruck. He didn't reply. He just shook his head. The fruit seller just smiled and gave him the balance. Their conversation ended.
There were just two questions in this conversation. In the first one, the buyer asks the fruit seller whether he has money. In the second, the fruit seller asks buyer the same question. While the genuine intention behind the first question was to know whether the fruit seller has money to give him balance, I could feel that the manner he asked it troubled the fruit seller. I don't know what made him to authoritatively ask the question - whether the 'assumption' that the stranger made that he has more money or his patronizing attitude towards the fruit seller.
Whatever it is, the point that I would like to make is - many forget the fact that they should respect a person for his character, for his personality, for his attitude and not for money. When I look at the dictionary, I could see the definition for money and respect as,
Money(Noun) - "The most common medium of exchange; functions as legal tender".
Respect(Noun) - "A courteous expression (by word or deed) of esteem or regard".
Obviously both doesn't have the same meaning. Then, it is strange why people treat them as synonymous. I accept that it is hard to accrue a lot of money. But just because a person has accrued a lot of money could not make him a person deserving great respect.
Respect should be given to anyone who deserves it. It shouldn't be something that could be bought with money. Neither should it be something that is sold for money.
Who is rich? He that is content. Who is that? Nobody. - Benjamin Franklin
Let every man be respected as an individual and no man idolized. - Albert Einstein
