A Small Moment of Connection

One morning, I was walking from the main hall to the office where I work. Soryu happened to be walking a little in front of me in his usual steady gait toward the conference room called Seppo, where he would have a major meeting with all the team leads.

Very recently, I had learned a big lesson from him in not being too attached to forms and rules if that stops me from taking full responsibility for my presence and actions. Though we were told from early on in the training that we shouldn’t start conversations with him in the hallway, in this moment there was somehow a sense that it’d be good to say something to honor our relationship.

Nevertheless, all that came out was “Thank you for everything.”

He kept walking, then paused in front of the door to Seppo, turning toward me, and replied, “Thank you for being meaningful.”

Then he walked into the room.