Contentment

Ambassador Khan (center) with his brothers and father.

I don’t think the Ambassador of Pakistan Asad Majeed Khan was expecting my question; it’s not what you typically ask in a formal first meeting. But as I was telling him about my favorite chapter in the “30 Days” book, I asked if he would share a 'wisdom from an elder' that is meaningful for him.

"Contentment. That's what I learned from my mother and my father," Ambassador Khan tells me. "They were very content, with whatever they had; they were the least material people. My father especially, I never saw him being jealous, or envy anyone's success.

Throughout his life, when he could have easily afforded a very good house, in one of the poshest localities in Lahore, my father decided to continue to live in the area where he had grown up. He said he had an identity there and didn't want to leave that.

Every morning for 50 years, my father would wake up and go to get his shave at the same barber shop. He had friends there and they would have a no holds barred kind of conversation.”

Ambassador Khan’s father, Khan A. Majeed

Ambassador Khan’s father was one of the pioneers of life insurance in Pakistan, and was offered a major management position, which he declined. He enjoyed his freedom and was content with his position, Ambassador Khan tells me.

"Also, he would never judge a person. We would have some of the leading industrialists come to our house and they would be treated exactly the same way as the milk-seller that he knew from his old days; each would be served in the same teacup."

When Ambassador Khan’s eldest brother was getting married, his father insisted that one of the barbers, who was also a cook, would do the cooking. Others tried to talk him out of it because it was a huge event and the menu was extensive, but his father insisted. "People still talk about that food - the gajar-ka-halwa ..."

Ambassador Khan shares a story about the only time his father got really sick and had to be admitted to the hospital. "For those three days in the hospital, the entire team from the barber shop would come every morning, and they would sit in the same position as in the barber shop and have their discussions. The hospital guys were shocked! But my father had seen these men every day for 50 years. They were family."

Thank you Ambassador Khan for sharing your father with us. May we all benefit from his wisdom.

My prayers for Khan A. Majeed.

An honor to share some thoughts on promoting Peace and Understanding through Dialogue, at an event at Ambassador and Zunaira Khan’s residence.

I talked about the moment I realized how powerful our stories really are. Please read more here.