From the passenger seat: A morning of reflections

Photo by Nitish Patel on Unsplash

On a sweaty May morning, she got into an auto driven by a young man not older than 25 years old.

During the 45-minute journey, she observed this carefree young man as he took her to the destination. She often wondered what prompted people to behave a certain way and that day, as she sat in the passenger seat, she observed three distinct things that stood out as valuable lessons from her driver.

1. Be considerate: Despite getting a long ride with her as a customer, the guy offered to take one more lady, till a certain point. Before she could agree or disagree, he knowingly pointed out how hot it was and how the lady wouldn’t get a direct ride to her destination. She was going to agree anyway but let him have the joy of doing a good deed early in the morning. It made her realise how important it was to look out for others
2. Be your own melody: she had music playing on her earphones on the entire way, some minutes into the ride, she heard a voice singing, different from what she was listening to, as she saw in the mirror, the auto driver was singing a song and seemed to be enjoying listening to his voice as much as she was listening to someone else sing in the earphones. The guy chose to utilise the resources around him, his voice for the same thing that she was using her mobile and earphones for. Smiling, she slowly took off her earphones and decided to enjoy some live singing courtesy of her auto driver.
3. Find things that slow you down: The auto was zooming past vehicles, 2 years in the city and she was habitual to the fast and furious driving. As they passed through a religious shrine, the guy suddenly slowed down, bowed his head and muttered a soft prayer; this sudden change in behaviour stood out to her, highlighting the importance of having influences that could arrange a change, a break in the norm.

She thought about the experience as a reminder of how everyday mundane encounters offered a chance to shape her understanding of the world around her.

She thought….