It is not often that you get to fully appreciate the weight of a simple gesture. Light and swift in motion. Rich and intense in substance. You only get to realise its true effect a fleeting moment after it happens. All you are left with in that fleeting moment is the after effect of a sweet but fading aroma that your senses try to hold on to for dear life. A simple gesture.
I came across these words today.
Gristle. It brought back memories of me as a child trying to chew endlessly on badly made dinners hosted by ill-tempered grown ups. Those were the type of people I hated visiting. Their words were ill; dripping with condescending niceties. I would smile in horror and shy away into the deepest corner of my mind. I could see my parents bite and smile too and it made me wonder why they insisted on taking me to these visits. A distant relative that we had to pay tribute to once in a while. Perhaps an obligation which I had to be a part of. As I grew up, I got to associate those visits with gristle. The food they made and the mood they left me with.
Progeny. A word full of meaning. One that evokes notions of pride; my parents' pride for having me in their life. I would ask my parents to refer to my sister and I as their progeny from now on. A renewed sense of achievement tends to arise every time they use that word. A homecoming and a warmth that can only be felt at home.
I think back to the simple gesture though. We all get touched by strangers who just happen to cross our paths or stumble on us in the most unexpected and unusual of circumstances. This reminds me of another perfect word.
Serendipity. The effect that a simple gesture does to you is serendipitious. It takes you away from the gristle that you are forced to munch away on in this journey called life. It leaves you feeling that you are part of a progeny of those have been there and felt the same way you do. Proud to have been given the chance to experience the gentleness and subtlety of a kind and simple gesture.
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