Conversations with local Taxi Drivers

Apologies all, I haven't written much over the last week. I probably have good reason as I am enjoying a tropical holiday while attending a Neuropsychopharmacology conference here in Bali. Okay I admit the conference part is not as relaxing, nourishing to the intellect though it may be.

Anyway. Thought I'd write a quick, short blog post on conversations I've had with taxi drivers over the years. I love talking to taxi drivers, especially given the fact (I believe) they are highly underestimated sources of local cultural knowledge, folk psychology and wisdom. I shall aim to add to this post over time.

As I mentioned, I am currently in Jimbaran, Bali. Yesterday while on the way to a local fish market, the taxi driver and I started discussing religion and cultural traditions.

Essentially he stated that in his opinion, there is no religion only ‘karma…you do good with people first. Always be good. Pray at temple, giving offerings is bonus. Important yes, but bonus. Karma first.’ He then explained that ‘we here in Indonesia, we respect all types of ENERGIES. Our dead have energies. Spirits have energies. Trees, animals, people everything. All energies. And we respect them all, because we all the energies different but come from same place.”.

I like that. He’s no quantum physicist either, but a very aware local taxi driver who didn’t rip us off, for those skeptics and paranoids among you.

While we are in SE Asia, lets flashback to 2016, when I was in Singapore this time purely for work related purposes. Here a taxi driver and I started discussing the Asian Education System. I have been fortunate enough to have traversed both this and the most Western centric school systems, so I was interested in his opinion. Our conversation entry point was after he had told me his daughter had graduated with high honours recently. I passed on my congratulations, to which he replied to my surprise: "For what?" I replied with some innocence:"For doing well in a highly regarded education system…". His face turned a faint shade of red betraying a rising anger as he retorted: "Highly regarded. Yes highly regarded, for turning our children into very efficient government slaves. SO what, can rote learn, can recite, but where is the creative thinking? WHERE?" At which point his anger intensified and I decided it was high time to change topic.

I have been there done that to a degree, and while it trains up a very good work ethic and commitment to achieving goals, I know there is a high price to pay. Compassion (competition out valuing cooperation), empathy, creative play, autonomy and some kind of freedom to express emotions can be left under-developed. That was my brief reflection after that snippet of a conversation.

I'll finish for now with a conversation I had with a devout Muslim man from, Afghanistan, who was ferrying me back to Melbourne airport in 2014. Interestingly, and quite sadly too, I learnt he was a fully qualified surgeon in his homeland. However he was amicable and accepting of his current situation, and expressed his deep gratitude to Australian society for accepting him.

He told me Ramadan is done with 3 main reasons: "...to pay obedience to God, to show yourself you can restrain your passions and desires, and to give you the experience of having nothing, so you can better understand those more needy.".

When the conversation turned to the current climate of Islamic suicide/murder terrorism, he had this to say:

"That whole going to heaven and getting virgins shit? Its a stupid and dangerous twist of Islam man. There's some f**ked up people from my religion out there. But luckily they are but a few. We hate them. They are cold blooded killers."

To be continued!