On Sugar Paper

Yesterday, I conducted a training for a corporate's CSR programme. I am generally sceptical about CSR programmes, but this one, inspires me at several levels. The programme aims to engage employees in their CSR activity and again I think that is a bold aim because employees sometimes do not want to (nor have the time to) do anything other than their jobs. There are some gems though, among the employees, whose eyes light up at the sound of getting involved in 'good' work. This, lights my soul. When I told the 'trainees' that "our stories make us who we are" and asked them to share some of their most defining life experiences that a quote reminds them, many of them began sharing. Two stories stand out and I am going to share them here. These are personal stories, not confidential ones. Forgiveness and Judgement One of the employees was a naval officer prior to joining this organisation. A few years ago he was on a small vessal and his job was to watch...

I am a slow child. I am mostly slow, even as an adult. Let's go back a few decades to when I was born. My birth was difficult. I was born premature and a lot of people thought I wouldn't live more than a few days. When I was two, I got chronic bronchitis which continued for 13 years. There were several nights when my mum sat up with me, watching me struggling to breathe and wondered if I was going to see the next morning. I was bad at Math. So bad, that I am sure, my Math teachers didn't even know I existed. I ate slow. There have been countless dinners where my father has yelled at me because I would take hours to finish the food on my plate. Eating with people therefore stresses me out. I am mostly the last one to finish. I found Economics quite tough in college. I never understood what was being taught and came home every single day and sat with my books to read on my own and catch up with the class. Unfit and slow. Those are the two adjectives that could perhaps ...