INSP

'Surprise' vendor Urs Hebegger on how his fascination with language has helped him appreciate those around his pitch

BY URS HABEGGER, SURPRISE VENDOR

Charisma. What a word! Charisma. Even if I didn’t know the meaning of the word and therefore wouldn’t have a clue about it, I would still know that it was very special. It’s mysterious. Charisma. A word like the bright sound of bells ringing over a fragrant flower meadow. It’s a magic formula from the department of phonetics!

Who may have invented it? I ask myself. The Greeks? The Romans? Praise be to whoever did! Charisma. If there was a hit parade for words, this word would have been number one in the charts for me since day one. Charisma. Soothingly light, this word flows over my lips with its ingenious sequence of letters. Architecturally speaking, it’s a masterpiece. Musically speaking, an overture. Literarily speaking, the high art of poetry. Charisma. A pleasure for the ears. Charisma. What a word!

But there is much more behind the word charisma. After all, it has its meaning: charisma refers to the special radiance of a human being. Few are the ones who have it. But every time I meet one of these rare

beings, whose radiating kindness and warmth of heart is thrillingly palpable, I am irresistibly drawn under their spell. These people exist, unfortunately rarely enough, but they do exist. Every encounter with them turns into a personal highlight for me. I have been very lucky to meet some of these very special people while working as a Surprise vendor in the railway and subway station in Rapperswil.

When the presence and charisma of a human being causes kindness and warmth of heart to become so very palpable that they almost turn into material, tangible objects, then that is the time for goosebumps. How impressive it is!

What makes charisma so striking? What causes it to manifest in a particular person? Is it learnable? If only we could find the answer to these questions; our world would become an infinitely better place.

Translated from German by Megan Claeys. Courtesy of Surprise / International Network of Street Papers

Illustration by Sophia Freydl. Courtesy of Surprise.