Things Unknown Proposed as Things Forgot
This past Thursday, I finalised my studies in Lille. The next step was to fly back to Estonia for a military exercise, which I will be completing at the time of posting this.
On the way there, I decided to stop by my godmother’s place in Brussels for a night. They are a French family with 3 children, and currently, there is only one left at home with 2 years to go in high school.
The reason I want to speak about this family is that they represent all the sides of French culture that I aspire towards. I happened to visit them while reading “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie.
In the book, Carnegie speaks about how making people feel important and appreciated is crucial in any interaction. In Thursday's context, it was subtly established with praise of my military service and my smarts without excess.
“The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated”, William James
Furthermore, they are very much into giving and sharing absolutely everything they have, even if there might be a slight bias towards their godson; it feels natural. Not to mention, they are interested, and they ask questions. They make you speak. They listen. This makes me want to learn more about them.
“We are interested in others when they are interested in us.” Dale Carnegie
The fact is that I have so much more to learn from them — they have lived on 3 different continents, have raised very educated children and are extremely well-read on what seems to be everything, ranging from history to music to politics. All this without forgetting the names of every single member of my family.
Something I also noticed is how they bring up unknown/novel information: it is brought up as something that I have simply forgotten. This is a very healthy way of teaching, it helps to save face and or praise pre-existing knowledge.
“Men must be taught as if you taught them not, And things unknown proposed as things forgot.” Alexander Pope
I already promised to visit them again this summer. I want to figure out their secrets to learn to give the way they are giving.
P.S. All quotes are sourced via “How to Win Friends and Influence People”
This Week's Suggestions:
🎶 "Science Fiction" by Brunello:
Another brilliant melodic-minimal house sound with some deep male vocals to bop your head to.
Have a cosy week!
