From the unlikeliest of place....

When you eschew a normal, nine-to-five office job in favour of writing from home (or at least, when you're not whoring yourself out at a temp job several days per week), sometimes support comes from the places you least expect.

In my case -- while I have support from my friends and partner -- I'm always delighted when I take a cab home and end up shooting the shit with my taxi driver. Nine times out of ten, they're working hard so they can support family and/or head back to their country of origin... usually during the winter months. They always seem surprised that I live in Little India, that I love it, and yes, I have eaten at Lahore Tikka more times than I care to count.

Even more, they seem delighted that I'm passing over the opportunity to make a ton of cash in order to pursue a life of poverty and satisfied happiness.

When this happens, these nice men never fail to reassure me that yes, I am making the right decision. That money isn't the most important thing, and that travel and happiness should take precedence over obsessing about my income. That North America has a strange attitude towards income vs. happiness. And frankly, they don't understand it.

The prevailing attitude is "work hard when you can... and then enjoy life." It's not about martyrdom, seeing who works longer hours, or whose company exploits them in the most interesting ways. It's about ensuring that life is full of interesting things... and if you miss them -- or purposely avoid them, as is the case for some folks -- then you're missing out on the very things that make life worthwhile.

It sounds funny, but it's like finding kindred spirits while you're heading home. Sure, it's entirely possible the cab drivers are simply doing their job. But when you're in front of your home and chewing the fat for a good 15-20 minutes, there's an entirely good possibility that they might be sincere.

And I think far too many people are inclined to ignore the possibility that these drivers have a far healthier -- and happier -- view of life than most miserable working folk. So next time you're sitting in a taxi waiting to get home, keep this in mind: the man driving home you home likely has a better grasp of life than you.

Sometimes, it pays to listen once in a while. And when is the last time your cab driver took the time to introduce themselves to you?