One of the best things about pre-dawn driving is having a conversation--often with myself, spurred by the conversations of the previous days or someone talking about something interesting on NPR. This morning's conversation was with Alain de Botton, a favorite writer, and Mike Rowe--someone who was talking about "dirty jobs" on the Ted Radio Hour.
http://www.npr.org/programs/ted-radio-hour/?showDate=2014-03-21
I often wonder how people get by who don't listen to NPR--because it has the best conversations on the air. You get to hear the back stories, the ramblings, the honest telling of the truth from different points of view.
In Mike Rowe's piece about "dirty jobs," he challenges the notion of "following your passion"--and speaks up for alternate versions of success. What kinds of work make people happy and successful, both? He interviews a septic tank cleaner and goes with him to his work one day. They are up to their necks in a rather stinky job environment, but the man is both happy and wealthy.
"What did you do before this?" he asks.
"I was a guidance counselor and psychiatrist," he replies--to Mike Rowe's surprise.
"Why did you quit doing that?" Mike asks.
"Because I was sick of being up to my neck in other people's crap," the man said.
Conversations challenge me to think differently about things. Conversations open up new pathways in the mind. Conversations are ways that two people can "move together" in the world of ideas.
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