Consultant: any ordinary guy more than fifty miles from home.

Host:
The evening light had softened, casting a cool, reflective glow through the café’s windows. The air, still with the warmth of the day, mingled with the rich aroma of coffee and fresh pastries. The quiet hum of the café felt like a gentle backdrop to the conversation unfolding at the corner table where Jack and Jeeny sat. Outside, the world was still, the only movement coming from the occasional pedestrian or car, while inside, the conversation was taking a turn toward something deeper.

Jack sat with his elbows resting on the table, his fingers absentmindedly tracing the rim of his cup, his eyes fixed on something far beyond the café, lost in thought. Jeeny sat across from him, her posture relaxed but her eyes keenly watching him, knowing that something was brewing behind his words.

Jack:
"I came across this quote by Eric Sevareid today. He said, ‘Consultant: any ordinary guy more than fifty miles from home.’” He paused, letting the words settle in, a faint smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. "It got me thinking — how much of what we do is defined by where we are? What happens when we step away from the familiar, from the things we know? Do we become someone else in a new place, or do we just discover who we really are?"

Jeeny:
Her eyes softened as she listened, a smile curving on her lips as she absorbed his words. "I think that’s an interesting point, Jack. The idea of a ‘consultant’ being anyone more than fifty miles from home speaks to the idea of distance changing our perspective. When you’re far from where you’re comfortable, you have to adapt. You see things differently because you’re no longer confined by the familiar. Maybe, in that sense, it’s not about becoming someone else, but about tapping into parts of yourself you wouldn’t otherwise recognize." She paused, her gaze thoughtful. "We step outside of our comfort zones to see the world in a way that we just can’t when we’re too close to it."

Jack:
He nodded slowly, his gaze now focused on hers, his curiosity piqued by her perspective. "So, it’s like we don’t change ourselves, but we reveal parts of ourselves that we might have been unaware of?" He sat back, his fingers still tracing the edge of his cup. "But why does it take being away from home to see that? Why does stepping out of our usual environment make us more open to those realizations?"

Host:
The light in the café seemed to dim slightly, casting long, soft shadows across the table. The sounds of nearby conversations faded into the background, and the space between Jack and Jeeny felt more intimate, more focused. Outside, the world continued to rush by, but inside, they had found a shared moment of reflection, a quiet exploration of what it means to step outside the familiar and discover something new.

Jeeny:
She leaned forward slightly, her eyes steady but filled with understanding. "I think it’s because we’re no longer defined by the roles we play at home. When we’re in familiar territory, we fit into the places and expectations around us. But when we’re in new surroundings, we don’t have to live up to those same expectations. We’re free to just be, and sometimes that’s when we start to understand more about ourselves." Her voice became quieter, more reflective. "It’s not the physical distance that matters, it’s the mental space that we create when we step away from everything we know. It opens up new parts of us, parts we might have been ignoring or overlooking."

Jack:
His eyes softened as he considered her words, the weight of her reflection settling in. "So, stepping away gives us the freedom to see ourselves as we truly are, not just as the roles we’ve been given? And maybe that’s why consultants — or anyone who’s far from home — are so effective. They’re looking at things with fresh eyes, without the bias of being entrenched in the environment." He leaned back in his chair, a small smile forming as he considered the deeper implications. "Maybe the real lesson is that we can all learn to see with those ‘fresh eyes,’ even when we’re not physically far from home. It’s just about shifting our perspective."

Jeeny:
Her smile deepened, her eyes glowing with that quiet satisfaction of shared understanding. "Exactly. Sometimes, we just need to shift our perspective, to take a step back, to allow ourselves the space to view things from a different angle. It doesn’t always require leaving home, but it does require a willingness to see things differently."

Host:
The café seemed to quiet as their conversation settled into a place of realization. The world outside, full of its usual noise and distraction, continued to churn on, but inside, Jack and Jeeny had discovered something deeper — that sometimes, distance from what we know gives us the chance to see what was always there. And with that understanding, they both knew that the ability to change our perspective doesn’t always require physical distance. It requires the courage to step outside of the roles and expectations we’ve built for ourselves and embrace the possibility of seeing things with fresh eyes.

As the evening deepened, the soft hum of the café felt like a quiet acknowledgment of this newfound understanding — that home, and the answers we seek, can sometimes be found not by leaving, but by changing the way we look at the world around us.