“To cut the story short, my return to India found me in no time one with India’s women. The easy access I had to their hearts was an agreeable revelation to me. Muslim sisters never kept purdah before me here, even as they did not in South Africa. I sleep in the ashram surrounded by women, for they feel safe with me in every respect. It should be remembered that there is no privacy in the Segaon Ashram.”
Share this quote
Probable attribution
This saying is widely associated with Mahatma Gandhi, but the attribution is not supported by a reliable primary source.
Likely origin: From 'Gandhi's Life in His Own Words'; a reflection on his closeness to India's women and the Segaon Ashram (text starts mid-word, 'story short').
About this quote
People relax around someone whose conduct has never given them a reason not to. That ease isn't handed over by words; it's earned slowly, through years of behaving the same whether or not anyone is watching, until being trusted becomes the natural response to your presence.
When to use it
- A manager whose team knows she never repeats a private worry becomes the one people confide in.
- Kids in the neighborhood gravitate to the one adult who has always treated them fairly.
- New arrivals seek out the volunteer who is plainly there to help rather than to gain anything.