Tech cities are known for the speed that characterizes their ideas, their people, their lives. But during our recent visit to a soaked corner of the city, we stumbled upon something much more valuable than speed: the privilege of slowing down.
The rain had colored the streets with a silver hue, the traffic was moving like a glowing ribbon, and technology offices towered behind the mist. But we didn’t go there to see the skyline. We went there for the people who keep the city breathing.
A few lanes away from the bustling IT parks, there were families sitting together under shade provided by plastic sheeting and wooden stands. Children hugged each other and their parents, and rainfall pattered gently on the plastic sheets above them.
There was no hurry involved in this case.
Putting your needs first
Removing screens.
The kind of unity the world so often forgets to celebrate.
We had arrived with the purpose of meeting these families and giving them something small yet important – a pair of slippers for the children and the parents who walk through wet streets and terrain every day. A simple pair of slippers means a great deal to many of these families and provides a difference between inconvenience and relief.
One of the children was hugs a pair of slippers.
Another person laughed while attempting to jump over puddles in his new set.
A mother softly said, “This is a small gift, but it gives my heart a lot of calmness.”
"And in that moment, the rain was warmer, and the city was kinder,"
“What struck us most,” wrote Henry Grossman in “Men in Sheds” by Brian Dillon, “was that time—the simple act of sitting together, talking, smiling—was something that meant the most to those families and something that the rest of the city’s busy residents
“In an area based on technology, in this case, IT, we discovered the following truth:”
"Togetherness is actually a luxury."
When we were distributing the slippers, it was not only about providing comfort.
We, in turn, received . . . lessons in gratitude, in patience, in the strength of holding closely to the ones you love.
This experience has brought back to us the memories of why we do what we do.
“Our journey isn't just about footwear,” says Pierre, “but about footsteps.” Footprints towards people, towards stories, towards experiences which transform us. What we found in the rain-tech capital was what we all need: Time. | Toget And the hearts that sparkle far more brightly than any cityscape ever could.