As I was walking through Chinatown this morning (meaning Sunday morning) on my way up to church, I overheard two elderly women talking to each other. I must mention that it was out of the ordinary to be able to zero in on a single conversation in this part of the city, but it was still early enough in the day where there is some semblance of peace and quiet in the streets of Chinatown. They were speaking in Chinese and it sounded like one was giving advice to the other. The lady ended by offering one last morsel of wisdom (translated from Chinese): “…and this is what it means to be a person.”
I’ve heard this phrase many times before, but I found it interesting hearing it in this context. An elderly woman was teaching another elderly woman how to be a person. It seems to me that if you’ve lived for so long, you would be set on the type of person you are. You should be wise enough to know how to handle things, without someone telling you how to act.
“…And this is what it means to be a person”- a phrase familiar to all children who’ve been lectured to by adults. I guess no matter how old you get, someone will always be there to “tell you what to do.” I know I hear it enough. Even so, I hope that I can set everything aside, especially on days like today, or rather, yesterday. Happy Mother’s Day.