I'm a waitress and the person who might drive you to the airport in the Holiday Inn shuttle van if you happen to stay the night before your flight. Filling your tummy and giving you a ride are things I would do for free but some silly people like to pay me to do it. I don't actually care about the money except for the potential it has to be converted into something loving for another person. It is that premiss that has kept me trading so many hours the last few months.
During my work hours, I've met many people. I remember a couple of Venezuelans who let me practice Spanish with them. The biggest tip I ever got as a van driver was from a woman and her very sick looking son who were going to Seattle for testing on a new kind of cancer treatment and the same morning I got no tip from an air traffic controller who told me he makes 100,000 dollars a year. I remember a very nice man who sold mechanical equipment for raising turkeys and chickens. He was flying to do a sales pitch with Foster Farms. I was astounded that someone from the factory farming industry was sitting right in my van, telling me all about how automated everything is now and that their sales are quadrupling yearly in European countries. I've met many doctors, pilots, families on their way to Disney World, international school teachers, the man in charge of iTunes for all of Canada, a couple writers, two women on a road trip from California to Maine, and many newly weds on the way to their honeymoon.
I don't have anything profound to say about all these people; it's been like brushing past a hundred strangers/friends on a crowded street. I could see them fitting into my life as my sisters, best friends, neighbors, annoying cousins, co-workers, teachers, mentors, or wise grandfathers but I know they won't only because of geography and time. But I see that potential and it makes me feel kind and friendly feelings for them.
Not everybody I met was nice to me but I won't hold that against them. I like the Buddhist idea that emotions are clouds passing in front of the sun. An angry person isn't acting as their true self. The sun will come out again and it is good to be patient and understanding until it does.
I also like the idea that happiness is internal. If I could stay balanced enough and plugged into that internal power source, I wouldn't be as vulnerable to getting hurt or having my day ruined when somebody treats me with anger or rudeness. I usually respond to anger with sadness, which de-escalates the situation (instead of escalating it by matching anger with anger), but I still wish I could stay impartial.
Yesterday I packed my first box and went to my first dance recital (fyi-babies in poofy dance skirts are adorable). Tonight I work my last shift here in Buffalo. Oh what a weekend of firsts and lasts.
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