…of the day: Reflections on meetings with strangers

This week, I happened to find a song in my playlist that I discovered a few months ago. It reminds me so much of my youth as a young girl who happened to be very stubborn and defiant!  But it also reminds me of all of the people I’ve met along the way – the taxi drivers, the homeless guys, the street musicians and random people I’d meet at coffee shops.  And every time I reflect on those meetings, I realize that these are moments that I remember with full clarity because I learned something from them. 

In the past three weeks, I met two cab drivers that I will always remember.  A man from Bulgaria who had a Masters in Economics and worked for the Bulgarian government.  He was told to come to Canada because his credentials were outstanding and he wouldn’t have a hard time finding work at all.  He arrived and learned that his credentials weren’t even recognized.  He’s been driving cabs for four years now. 

And last night, there was the man who told me that in order to make a proper living, a cab driver would have to work nine days a week.  I asked him if he had taken any vacation time and he said that he takes a week during the summer to sleep and spend time with his kids.  But that he didn’t have time for travel overseas.  He asked me the same question and I told him about the Human Rights Arts festival in Washington.  He was intrigued and said “maybe you’ll see the shoes!”.  “The shoes?”, I asked.  “Yeah, you know, the shoes.  Do you get my reference?”.  I laughed and answer no, though I had a slight suspicion that he was referring to that guy who threw his shoes at George W Bush.  Indeed, that’s exactly what he was referring to.  “If I see a pair of shoes on exhibit at the festival, I will think of you!”, I continued to laugh with him and we parted ways.

Of all of things I’ve lived through in life, it’s these little meetings that have made me want to do more.  Whether it’s through discussions with strangers in person or discussions with strangers online, through my blog or elsewhere, I think it’s so crucial to share our life with others.  Even Thoreau, who loved solitude and lived alone in the woods for so long knew the importance of human relationships, no matter how fleeting (besides, he was used to that – he’d run across hunters and farmers and people who were just passing by, on a regular basis).  But he also knew that we are alone, in the end.  I can almost hear him say something like “Don’t fool yourself, kid.  We’re all alone in this world.” 

What I love about the song I’m about to introduce you to is that it has a way of encouraging action.  The title, “jeunesse, lêve-toi” translates to English as “youth, stand up” or perhaps “young people, rise”.  I love interactions with strangers because I’m hearing their voice and sometimes, that’s all we need to prompt us into action.  Interactions with strangers are usually brief so discussions are to the point.  Oddly enough, I hardly talk about vacuous subjects like the weather or sports with most of the strangers I meet.  I ask them about the meaning of life or what they think about art or politics or if they like their jobs.  I ask them where they’re from and if not from here, to tell me about their country or their life here. 

I want to know so I can pass it on.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find an English translation to the lyrics of this song. If you know of a site that has the translated lyrics, please let me know and I’ll post them here!

Update: I realize that the video is extremely tragic and disturbing and that my reflections about strangers might seem out of touch with the video. I’ll be writing a part two to this article later to reflect the more tragic meetings I’ve had. In the end, it’s about being prompted to act, to wake up and sometimes that comes from seeing a tragic video or having meaningful conversations with people you don’t know.

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