A Sweet Lesson in Patience
To be honest, the whole story kind of blew me away. I think I do tend to hold onto some stereotypes about cab drivers, especially cab drivers in big cities, as being very impatient people who really don't want to talk to the people they are taking around. But this man...just seems so amazing. A wonderful person, in every single way.
And I think we can all learn a lot from his story.
It is definitely easy, in our current society and times, to be impatient and edgy. It's easy to get frustrated with that older person in front of you while you're trying to get to where you need to go slowly moving along with their walker. We pass by the homeless people, not giving most of them a second thought. We offer our seats to the elderly, yes, but we don't try to talk to them. Sometimes, those people are lonely and need someone to talk to more than anyone. How hard would it be to just take our headphones out of our ears for one bus ride and at least try to talk to the person sitting next to us?
I truly do strive to get to know people, but I never actually put myself out there and do so. I think that cab drivers, bus riders, etc, have a wonderful opportunity to connect with a lot of people and make a small difference in their day. Most people tend to see these jobs as lower, not really worthy of intelligent, good people. But I disagree with that. It is incredible to get to connect with so many different people every day.
Of course, the story of this cab driver is a bit unique. Most of us will not, in our lives, have the chance to drive a very old, very fragile young woman through the pathways of her life, picturing her dancing in black and white and handing her off to a safe journey to the stars. It's an amazing story, but one that will not come to most of us.
But, I definitely would say that most of us do not realize how much we can impact someone else's life in the small ways. We're always striving for something bigger and better, to change the whole world. But I think the true miracles, the true changes, happen in our day-to-day lives while we're not even truly trying.
I honestly believe every single person makes a difference in the world just by the fact that they are alive, breathing, and using the planet. I remember that back at the beginning of this semester, the head of Residence Life at my college said something along the lines of, "It's too late for you to make a difference in the world now." And I was totally taken aback. Because that's totally not true. For one, everyone has already made a difference in the world. And second, we continue to make a difference in the world every single day that we live. Most of us will not make a big gesture, save the lives of a ton of people, save a baby from a burning building, etc. But we make small gestures every day, every ordinary day. The great moments in our lives are happening every day, and we just pass them by.
There's one quote from An Abundance of Katherines that goes:
“What is the point of being alive if you don’t at least try to do something remarkable?”
This quote is said by Colin, and I know John has gotten a little grumpy about how many people retweet it, reblog it, and seem to use it to guide their lives. Because, as he's said, he doesn't really believe that is true. Colin believes it to be true in the book, although by the end he seems to realize he doesn't need to create this perfect formula for predicting relationships or be a huge genius or anything, really. He just needs to live. And, preferably, not continue to be dumped by girls named Katherine.
I think John does a good job of providing the opposite in The Fault in our Stars with the juxtaposition of Hazel and Augustus and their differing ideas of heroism and how one should live their life {SPOILER ALERT!!!}
Gus: The oblivion fear is something else, fear that I won't be able to give anything in exchange for my life. If you don't live a life in service of a greater good, you've gotta at least die a death in service of a greater good, you know? And I fear that I won't get either a life or death that means anything."
Hazel: Your obsession with, like, dying for something or leaving behind some great sign of your heroism or whatever. It's just weird.
Gus: Everyone wants to live an extraordinary life.
Hazel: Not everyone.
Gus: Are you mad?
Hazel: It's just. It's really mean of you to say that the only lives that matter are the ones that are lived for something or die for something. That's a really mean thing to say to me.
I really love this passage, and I really love the differences between the two of them. And I do really like Hazel's quiet heroism, the fact that she lives not widely but deeply. Or maybe I just like it because that is generally the way I live. I don't always try to touch the lives of a lot of people or have a lot of friends, but when I do find a good friendship, I nurture it deeply. I don't let it go. I hope that I can be remembered that way whenever the time comes (hopefully a long way away) for me to join the stars again.
But yes. I don't think the only heroes are the soldiers or missionaries or rescue workers. I think they are heroes, of course. But everyone, every day shows a unique type of heroism that is just as beautiful and admirable.
The (small) Great moments are occurring every single "ordinary" day.
Don't miss them.
Inspirational quote/photo of the day: "We're conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments. But great moments often catch us unaware, beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one." -Cab driver
Word of the day: contumelious--insolently abusive and humiliating
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