Taxi Tips

After just recently returning from a business trip to Seattle, I can't help but ruminate on some anecdotal life-tips received from a taxi driver that drove me back to the airport Tuesday night (I wrote them down as soon as I got out of the cab). I love riding in taxi's because I engage in deep conversations that otherwise wouldn't happen were it not for the confined space and time a taxi cab and its ride affords. Some of my most profound encounters with strangers occur in taxi cabs; maybe it's because I feel freed to pursue personal convictions of others knowing that I'll probably never see them again in my life. (After writing that last sentence I realize my logic is embarrassingly flawed, weak and elementary. The same freedom I feel in taxi cabs is the same freedom I should experience in everyday life.)

Exuding a very jovial aura, I asked my cab driver what made him so happy. He responded in his strong Indian accent by saying that he possesses very little, and therefore is very rich in life. Probing a little further, I asked him to explain himself. He said, "Look, if you want to help beggars, stop looking for them on the street corners, because they're usually the ones that ride in my taxi cab dressed in Hugo Boss suits. They have everything, but possess nothing. The reason they're beggars is because what they have cannot satiate their constant hunger for more. So, they beg, beg, beg and beg, and then beg for more. They're never really secure."

So he teed it up nicely for me to toss my next query his way. I wondered what he meant by security, and he explained it like this, "Most people think that if they plan, purchase and pursue they'll find security that will carry them safely into old age. The only problem is that their pursuit makes them insecure, never achieving real security." I asked him if he felt secure, and he said, "Yes, because as soon as you realize that you cannot attain security you find real security."

Coming full circle, I said to him, "So you're rich in your poverty, and you're secure in your insecurity. Am I understanding you correctly? Is this what makes you happy?" He answered, "Yes, but it's not just that. I've learned that if you do exactly the opposite of what the world tells you to do, you'll find true happiness and fulfillment in life." In response, as I reached into my pocket for some money to pay him for his 20 minutes of service and entertainment, I said, "It's interesting that Jesus said some of these very same things. The difference is that richness, security and the pursuit of happiness are not found in the living out of these paradoxes, but rather in the living within them through the One that points us to God. In other words, my friend, Jesus already lived these truths to kill our pursuit in order to find the One that will lead us to life divine. Think about that."

Amazing how close most of us are to the Kingdom.

Waiting for my next taxi,

Tom