Every evening, a small gathering of people from the top of the office to the lower-level staff gathers in my office canteen. With a cup of tea and a light snack in hand, story after story begins. At first, it may seem like they are just a way to pass the time, but in fact, these conversations are lessons in life.
Some people's stories contain the pain of struggle, some tell how they lost their jobs and started anew, while others tell how they have slowly worked hard from a small salary to reach where they are today. Their words hide the harsh reality of life and the extraordinary lessons to be learned from it. Sometimes, a colleague tells about a big failure in life, which at first seems disappointing, but after the story is over, you understand that that failure has strengthened them and pushed them on the path to today's success. Again, after listening to the small joys of someone's life, you feel that it doesn't always take a big thing to be happy, happiness can be found in small things.
The thing that teaches us the most in this chat is that everyone has a struggle in their life and everyone has a story or another, some of them may be fighting through much more difficult situations than us, laughing and creating something new, and then it seems that if we can learn from the experiences of others, our own life will also become much easier.
In fact, beyond books, teachers or experiences, the real classroom of life is people and their stories. Listening to other people's stories makes us understand that the world is not just around us, it is much bigger. Every experience, every memory is actually a hidden lesson that teaches us patience, courage, hope and the ability to find new paths. In the end, this two-hour chat every day is not just a time for relaxation, but a mirror where we can see our own life in a new way in the stories of others.