Puffed Up? Who...me?

Recently I had a hangout with two amazing friends. I don't go out as often, but I had to create time for this one. You see, I serve in the leadership of an amazing interdenominational fellowship (PRF Eeeeh?), and through this platform I have met so many amazing people. I must admit that I don't "click" with everybody; I have often come off as many things (good, bad or somewhere in between) to many different people - even here in a beautiful-people kind of setting. Anyway, story for another day.

So, we go out with these amazing peeps. Btw, check out Beirut (that new restaurant opposite the main Jamia mosque entrance); that place is lit and the ambience is just something else. Anyways, we hook up and we get the usual out of the way - catch up and all. Then we start taking it a notch higher. I am having so much fun and these peeps are making my night - see, we're the kind of friends that have agreed to be candid about how we deal with each other. The result? You'll get some interesting and real questions thrown at you, and there will also be light shade that is thrown at you where we feel you need to do better than you are doing.

We keep talking well into the night and at some point, yours truly cannot keep his mouth shut. I love to talk, and I can talk for ages; even though a few people who have met me will tell you they don't know that side of me. Confession time: I am naturally shy! Shocker for most...huh? Believe me, every new setting I get into knows me as the quiet guy...laughs. The converse is true. So, talk I do. I value information; I value knowledge; I value revelation. Knowing gives someone an edge...well, sort of. There's just something spectacular about knowing. But the mother of all things is being able to talk about what you know; sharing knowledge goes beyond someone to everyone - it is the most selfless act of all (unless you are sharing knowledge for the sake of intimidation and self glory).

And so our night is done. Everyone goes home happy. My friends and I are not shy in giving feedback - which is what makes this lot so awesome. And so the next day in our WhatsApp group (yes...we have one...and it's not closed) we start giving feedback about our hangout. And in the course of that BAM! My friend says something that is a-tune to asking...and I paraphrase "what if one day you became puffed up because you know too much?" Now, I need you to know that I have fought many battles in line with being misunderstood, and I have always looked at this from the point of view of me being the victim, but this time around the tables were flipped on me! Suddenly I was staring at the stark possibility of "what if everybody else was the victim?". Now, that's as sobering as it gets. As I sat through the next ten minutes of my life, I went into introspection mode. I...oh, wait...this is too long already. Let me tell you all about my response and how it went down, in the next post.