The silent sun

In life one comes across hundreds of people as the years roll by. We forget some of the people we meet because we do not meet them often. There are others with whom we develop a rapport in one meeting only. In due course there are some painful relations that one has to endure with a grin and bear it attitude. This refers to having to tolerate people who like talking more about themselves and who always brag about their achievements. With such people one goes through the torture of putting up with them because you are too close to them and therefore do not want to be rude or abrupt while listening to their bragging.

Many a times people brag about how young they look, how people mistake them for being unmarried in spite of their having children, or on how people comment on their physical fitness. This reminds one what Washington Irving, an American author, had to say about looking young compliments. He says: "Whenever a man’s friends begin to compliment him about looking young, he may be sure that they think he is growing old."…the logic being that you don’t normally hear young people being told on how young they look!

There are others who show off their style of living. They talk about their cars, chauffeurs, domestic help or their expectations to befit their status. Sometimes it is below their dignity to sit in a taxi, or a particular kind of vehicle or to use an ordinary mobile phone even when they can barely under the functions of the more sophisticated phones. Some people like to talk about the number of domestic servants they have hired and continue to show off even if the other person is not interested in their household affairs.

Generally, while trying to show off, people tend to give themselves away rather than impress the listener. Why must they try to impress? Is it their own insecurity or naivety that compels them to create an impression? Why is the person full of so much self-importance? Is he trying to sell himself as an expensive or exclusive commodity? Are we not confident enough of ourselves to be accepted as we are? Why doesn’t one realise that one’s behaviour and conduct conveys everything? One does not have to brag about achievements or possessions, or style of living because this ironically creates a negative impression. Those who fall in this category of ostentation need to take cue from the sun that prominently but silently rules the sky during the day. Yet the silent sun is adored by one and all.