Standing Alone

It was a Senior Citizens Day celebration amongst the Aviation, Travel, Tourism and Hospitality fraternity. The hall was almost full with the young and old, men and women floating around, meeting each other enthusiastically, some exchanging old stories, while some were catching up on the latest gossip hot on the grapevine.

The crowd was called to attention by the MC who, after the pleasantries and homage to those who were lost during the Covid outbreak, invited each of the seniors to the podium to speak a few words. He ensured to give a brief background of the seniors to the young and new members of the industry.

While listening to each of the senior colleagues’ stories, Mazher was reminiscing his own journey of close to four decades when he heard his name being called. The MC had worked with Mazher in the initial days of their careers and knew about Mazher’s professional and personal parts of the journey more than anybody else in the room. While walking towards the podium, Mazher heard the MC mentioning, “Here comes a self-made man who has stood alone many a time in support of his values and principles. If he hadn’t, he perhaps wouldn’t have been present with us today but sitting somewhere in the Arab world counting his petro-dollars.” ( https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/word-honour-mazher-h-syed )

Mazher thanked his old colleague, took the mike, greeted everybody and started his narrative:

“Good Evening, Everybody!

My colleague here, when he talked about ‘Standing Alone’, actually put my creaking wheels in the head from snooze into play mode. I come across this phrase ‘Standing Alone’ very often in the content I read every day on digital platforms. I had also thought that ‘standing alone’ was indeed an individual’s solo act of heroism wherein no one else in the world had stood by that person. But I have reminisced and evaluated the situations in my own life when I had always thought that I had stood alone, absolutely alone. It then dawned upon me as to how wrong I had been.

I have been very determined many a time to take a call on something that I strongly believed in, going against many others’ opinions who were dead sure that I was making a wrong decision. At those moments in time and later too, I had thought that I was ‘standing alone’. But now in hindsight, I have recalled that I was never standing alone. There was always someone who had supported me, perhaps very inconspicuously, perhaps silently by the trust I could see in his or her eyes, or by just nodding his or her head in approval; maybe even speaking discretely in my favour in my absence; in fact in so many ways that appeared insignificant to me at that time.

The interesting part is that none of those who seemed supportive could have been very sure of the successful outcome of my decision.

?But how could I have not known that there was one person who wouldn’t dare to openly oppose everyone’s opinion but cry her eyes out behind closed doors, prostrating before God, beseeching Him to bless me with success in the decision I was taking, standing all alone - my insurance agent for success, the one person I love as much as God does – my Mom.

To be honest with you, every decision that I had taken to ‘stand alone’ which I remembered as my solo act of bravado, which had perhaps even gone to my head, had actually never been mine alone. It had the concurrence and motivation of those who had shown it in their eyes, offered it in a silent nod of their head, and of course through those divine blessings that were at my side whenever I had assumed that I was 'standing alone'.

?Always remember that, in some way or another, you’re somebody’s angel, even if you don’t know it. They love you and think of you, even if you don’t hear it every day. Trust that there is love all around you even if you cannot feel it.

You are not alone.

~ Unknown

So, my friends, the next time you wish to boast about you ‘standing alone’ or ‘going against the tide’ all by yourself, think twice, get humble, and be grateful for the support that had enabled you to stand tall today.

?Thank you, everyone! God bless you all!”

With that Mazher walked away from the podium to a thunderous applause from the audience, holding his head down in humility and a handkerchief to his damp eyes.

~ Mazher H. Syed

August 02, 2022.