Part of the Story

It has been a while between blogs, and despite the fact that I feel like I have a million things to do, I find myself having to leave everything to write down what is floating around in my head. Despite often using time as an excuse, the fact is that we make time for the things we love and besides, if I don’t write it down, it will pass me by never to be quite the same again. So I take the time and make the most of the opportunity whilst it exists.

The process of my writing starts like this… a download of the information in precisely the way I think it. It doesn’t take long as I am quite proficient at typing and articulating my thoughts is not difficult for me. Whether anyone can understand my thoughts, on the other hand, is yet to be established. But I am hoping you’re still with me.

A reread of the content will then highlight any flaws and grammatical errors, which I attend to quickly and most times, still manage to miss some… and lastly, if I think it serves a purpose or will be of value to anyone, I will publish it as a blog.

So you are right to assume that I consider this one to be of value.

I was asked recently by a dear friend as to why it is that I enjoy to write. Reflecting on this question, I realised that the reasons were many and varied. Apart from being therapeutic and a good way to rationalise my thoughts, I realised that if I actually looked back over my life and what I had done the most, then writing would have to win hands down. It is also something that gives me great joy and reward; looking back over the finished product and believing it has some merit, is a great feeling. I often go back through things I have written and am surprised that I have actually written them.

My love of writing possibly stems from a childhood love of reading. Reading has the power to transport you to places and make you feel certain things, that in reality, would not be practical or achievable.  In my mind, I could, and still do, go on the most wonderful journeys; they are either make believe, wishful thinking or reflections of what I have seen, heard, read or have come to understand. The latter is probably the one that inspires my writing the most. I haven’t quite grasped the skill of writing fiction but it is definitely something I intend to give a go.

So in fact, my love of writing could possibly more accurately be described as a love of storytelling, hence why lately, I am loving the opportunity to take part in producing video content. Along with writing, it is yet another way to tell stories.

And where do the stories come from?

Each one of us has a story to tell, and by taking the time to listen, it is not difficult to extract the story, the message, that very special piece of information or feeling that is going to give the story the edge, the point of difference that the reader or viewer will be able to connect with.

I tend to be a magnet for stories. I am privileged to have so many people in my life who choose to share their thoughts and feelings with me. I am privileged to have their trust and they know their information is in safe hands. But the truth is, that in life, we get back what we give. We will find ourselves reflected back to us through others….so what I believe I receive, is most often equal to what I give to others.

Some of those special people may be reading this blog; many of them have lived the most fascinating lives and have an incredible story to tell. They know how much I admire what they have done. They will be smiling right now because they also know that I have offered to write their stories for them. I tend to do this a lot and I currently have a backlog of potential books to write.

These beautiful people, who I have met seemingly by chance, have added so much value to my life and my personal story……but we also know that nothing in life happens purely by chance. It is all in fact part of the story.

It makes sense that in order to learn about someone’s story one must be open to having the conversation and to listen. For me, there is nothing more stimulating that a good conversation with the right person.

Conversation seems to have become almost an art form in these times powered mainly by technology. It still is, in my opinion, the most basic, most valuable form of communication, where there can be an instant exchange of words and energy; the giving and receiving of messages beyond even those that are spoken.

In my travels through life, I am constantly aware that I am surrounded by people and circumstances that enable me to grow and learn through the knowledge and information they are willing to impart on me. For me, each encounter of any value can potentially give me a message that I need to hear. For this reason, I am open to having the conversation.

I will give you the most recent example I can think of to demonstrate the point…

Last weekend, a friend and I took a taxi to the airport. We would usually call an Uber (these drivers always have a fascinating story to tell!) but considering the amount of luggage we had between us, we thought it wise to book a larger vehicle.

So the taxi turned up at my place and a thin-built, eighty-year-old man (I know this because he told me) hopped out of the car to load up the luggage. His clothes were way too big for him and his shirt was torn in a few places. He introduced himself as the best taxi driver in Melbourne, reassuring us that it was in fact our lucky day.

The inside of his taxi told a slightly different story, I’m afraid. It was very old, extremely dusty, full of cobwebs, and smelled accordingly. His driving was also questionable and suddenly I remembered how Uber had risen to such fame, so quickly. This cab was definitely not a great reflection on the taxi industry.

My friend and I chatted in the back seat but the body language of the driver told me that he was very eager to have a conversation, so much so that he interrupted us and dominated the conversation from that point until we arrived at the airport.

And whilst I would have preferred to have a conversation with my fellow passenger, I was open to the conversation with the driver, which was extremely animated and filled with passion. Fearing slightly for our lives, I was looking out of the front window constantly, and preparing to warn him, whilst he was busy speaking to me through the rear vision mirror. Very aware that we might not make it to the airport in one piece, I tried my hardest to listen to this man with the raspy voice and questionable driving skills.

During the journey from hell, our driver actually imparted some very valuable information. He told me that his parents had died in the war when he was 18 months old and he went to live with his grandmother. His uncle paid for him to be educated at one of Melbourne’s best schools and he went on to study Commerce and Law at Melbourne University before joining one of Melbourne’s top firms, travelling the world and being involved in some very important transactions.

The stress of the job, and the fact that he was expected to compromise his ethics and values, led him to resigning from his position; he then turned to his passion for teaching which landed him positions in two of Melbourne’s top schools.

He told me of his one great love, his wife of 40 years, who he had watched die whilst he was helpless to save her, only ten years earlier. He said that he had never married again because he had never found anyone who could bring out the best in him like she did, so why bother.

What he said next really was the piece of ‘gold’. On approach to the airport he said… “Love, I like your passion and your grunt, so I’m going to tell you this: in life don’t ever lower your level of goodness to meet others. The people who matter and are important will always rise to meet you there. Don’t ever compromise. Knowing you should make the next person a better one. That is the role we all play in people’s life”

Wow! I was blown away and then spent the next few minutes distracted whilst I tried to remember exactly what he had said, as it was incredibly poignant. At first opportunity, I wrote it all down.

What he was telling me was, that both in his professional and personal life, he refused to compromise and that is what led him to experiencing a fulfilling life. In his career, he was expected to write contracts with loopholes in them which could then be exploited to make lots of money for others. This he could not stomach, so he removed himself from the situation. In his personal life, he said he knew his wife was the one for him the moment he saw her across a room and married her immediately. Why? Because she was different from everyone else and he liked the person he was when he was with her.

A beautiful story and quite significant message from a person who we could have easily mistaken for a worn, old, grumpy, reckless taxi driver had we not taken the time to engage in the conversation that he was quite eager to have.

Caught up in conversation as we were, neither I or the driver realised that my credit card payment hadn’t actually gone through. Days later, a few hours after I had returned home, there was a knock at my front door and there he stood with the declined receipt, still looking a little worse for wear.

When I saw him, I said “I knew you would track me down”. He responded that he remembered me saying that we would only be gone for a few days.

He processed my credit card and gave me the receipt and left me with the words: “It was a privilege to meet you love, I really enjoyed our conversation”.

“Me too”, I said.... “more than you will ever know”.