Taxi Life Lessons.

A few weeks ago Ben and I were supposed to fly to Prague, which was the birthday gift he gave me, but the volcanic ash got in the way again and our flight was canceled. It was the only weekend we could have gone, so we were both incredibly disappointed. The only good news in this was that because we were in Ireland and not Prague Ben could get his cast taken off early. We took the train, then hopped in a cab to take us the last 20 or so minutes to the hospital. Our driver was named Philip, and he had a very interesting story.

Philip made a joke about Ben's cast by saying he had played "too much football!" which was especially funny because that was exactly how he broke his leg in the first place - on the soccer field. Then as the conversation continued, we learned that Philip was in a traumatic accident when he was a young man. He was riding his bicycle, and was hit by a car going 80 kilometers per hour. The car was fighting to pass a truck who wasn't going to let it happen, and eventually ended up running right into Philip. His hands went through the windshield, the bicycle handlebar went through his stomach, he broke both arms, one of his legs, lost the tip of a finger, can't move another finger, and on one hand his thumb and pointer join is still broken.

It was a miracle that he survived. He was in a three week coma, and during that time, he soon learned, his nurse, who was English, talked to him every day. He said that he remembered hearing her saying his name a lot, "Philip, Philip." And when he eventually woke up from his coma, he had lost his lifelong Dubliner's accent, and instead could only speak with his nurses British accent! He had somehow adopted her accent during the ordeal when he was hearing her speaking to him during those three weeks! When he first picked us up I was surprised to hear a British accent instead of an Irish one, and now that I know why, I can only imagine how surprised his family and friends must have been when he started speaking to them again.

He told us that he remembered being outside of his body right after the accident, and even remembered watching himself on the operating table. "Ever heard of one of those out of body experiences? I had one," he said proudly. Then he told us that once he recovered, he walked away with 5 new philosophies on life that make him feel fulfilled and happy every day:

1.) Give love to everyone.
He described how we are each born into a world full of love, and how it is our duty to spread it to those who deserve it.

2.) Don't judge anyone.
He said it's just a waste of time and love, and we shouldn't judge anyone. Not by their skin color, their religious beliefs, not by anything.

3.) Always have forgiveness in your heart.
If someone apologizes or not, you shouldn't carry the burden of anger. You should forgive every person who wrongs you, even if they don't necessarily say sorry. Ben and I exchanged private smiles as he gave an example in which someone was forgiving another person named "Mary."

4.) Fill your life with Music.
Whether you can play an instrument or not, you should surround yourself with music.

5.) Laugh often.
This one he considered the most important.

He also said that if there was a sixth philosophy, it would be that 'You are #1, and you should live your life for you.' Make decisions that will make you happy, and follow your dreams.