Start wherever you are. The next time you jump into your car listen for meaning  in the words of a song on the radio. Hunt for a sign. Literally. A license plate. A billboard. What words resonate?  Whether you consider it a message from above or just random happenstance, each word is a key that can unlock your deepest knowing.
As the Sufis say “even the rock is a teacher’.

Pay attention to interactions with strangers. Imagine each as messenger sent to offer a lesson.  Every exchange holds the possibility of  helping each of us educe true wisdom from within.

I’ve considered writing a book consisting of chapters each devoted to an interchange with a cab driver I have met in my travels. It would be an awfully long book spanning decades.  Two of my all-time favorites have occurred this last month.  Each clarified my personal vision for a lifetime.

Unlikely Angels are Everywhere

It was not yet light as we headed toward the San Diego airport. I was keynoting at an event at the World Bank in Washington, DC. Mustapha, my young driver, was as thin of frame as the skinny tie that hung between the lapels of his oversized black jacket. He was from Morocco and drove the night shift for a car service while studying computer technology at the local community college. When I discovered he was an observant Moslem, I asked him about his experience practicing Islam in Southern California.

“It pains me how misunderstood my religion is. Like the word jihad,”  said Mustapha, earnestly glancing at me in the rear view mirror. “Do you know what jihad really means? It is a battle, but not how people here talk about it. Jihad is a battle against the infidel… but the infidel within us. It is the battle against the unholy, the coarse and  ignorant within each of us. The Koran teaches us to be generous and kind, especially to those who are strangers.  My dream is that someday I might  help the world know true Islam is a religion of peace.”

The next morning I stood before my audience and shared the thoughts of my driver. Afterwards many came to the front of the room to thank me for my words. I caught my flight back to San Diego without incident. Mustapha awaited curbside, skinny tie and all. I told him how I had shared this thoughts, his frustrations with the large influential  audience at the World Bank.

“Thank you so much for sharing my message,”  said Mustapha, visibly moved. “Allah Akbar.” God is great.

You never know where and when you will have a family reunion

A few weeks ago I grabbed a cab at the Tampa airport and sat in the back seat, tired of travel and knowing this was one ride that would not turn out to be significant. Ali and I could not have been more dissimilar. His skin was coal-dark, his name  Arabic-sounding. His cab was a mess and smelled of old cigarette smoke. Out of courtesy I ventured to ask a question or two. Next thing I knew I was engulfed in a life story worthy of Hollywood. He described the emotions of being in the middle of a battle when as university student in Ethiopia he had fought Russian and Cuban troops in an attempt to overthrow a corrupt government.  Fleeing to Sudan, he was recruited as an undercover agent for the American embassy - which is how he managed  to escape to the United States when things fell apart in Khartoum. In St. Louis Missouri he got a masters degree in finance and managed a Bank of America branch before he fell in love with a gal from Tampa and decided to semi-retire, move in with his lady love and drive a cab.

“It was love at first sight. I could not resist her. She was sweet, gorgeous… and Jewish.”

“Jewish?” I asked, surprised

“Oh yeah! My mom and dad were both Jewish. My whole family, actually.” Ali  pulled a Jewish star on a chain from under his shirt.

I was taken aback. Then I recalled, of course, there are Ethiopian Jews. The lost tribe.

“Well, you know, I’m Jewish too.”

Suddenly we were bonded. Our parting at the hotel caused wide eyes from the bell staff. Fair-skinned hotel guest in Tommy Bahama shirt with cowboy boots with the cabdriver in ragged tee shirt and shorts hugging and grinning like long lost brothers.

We were.

And so my vision was revealed to me. I see a world of brothers and sisters. I see my work as helping to make my vision come true.

What’s yours?

Jeff Salz, Ph.D is an adventurer, anthropologist and mountaineer who speaks on Leadership, Change, Innovation and the Power of Service. Learn more about Jeff’s adventures and Discovery Network specials at www.wayofadventure.com or contact him directly at: jeffsalz@earthlink.net