“What are your Passions?” The power of asking this question to a stranger
Friday night, my husband Stephen and I ventured to meet a group of Latina lesbians (now I bet I have your attention) for a birthday celebration and in typical Latin fashion, they were running late and we were stuck waiting at a bar we had never been to. The place was called Magnum’s Lounge – a great old New York style piano bar vibe restaurant meshed with an eclectic clientele and great desserts.
Upon searching for a seat at the very chilled vibe bar, Stephen noticed a member of the choir from our church, Unity on the Bay. Don’t freak out…Unity is not your every day kind of church. http://www.unityonthebay.org/.)
This distinguished gentleman whose name we later learned is Maurizio Martinoli was sitting alone at the bar having a piece of pie and I decided to sit next to him and introduce myself. While Stephen ordered me a glass of Merlot and his usual Grey Goose martini with three olives I began to talk with Maurizio. After breaking the ice which was all of five minutes, I decided toask him my new favorite question: “What are your passions?” response, he paused, grabbed his iphone and began to share with me a gallery of the most amazingly colorful, vibrant, unique portraits I have ever seen. http://www.mamoart.com
For at least 1 hour we experienced a private tour of mixed media photography and portraits while learning of his inspiration, childhood and experiences. It just doesn’t get better than this I thought to myself. Authenticity at its best and all with the help of the iphone. It was an amazing experience and again proves that connecting with someone’s authentic self is so much powerful than asking the typical, “so, do you come here often? Type of boring flat questions. Next time you are forced to kill time while waiting for a group of Latina Lesbians at a new spot remember to use your time well and ask folks sitting around you what there passions are. You never know, you may get lucky and sit next to an amazing artist who will be willing to take you on a digital tour of his world.
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