Be a Bus Conductor!

Some of the best moments of my life in the past four years were the times I spent in the oratory. During my second year of philosophy I was sent to teach in a village school at Sakra. Invariably I liked beginning the class by asking the students what they wanted to become. I expected students to tell me about professions like doctor, engineer, lawyer etc. The first boy began by saying, ―I want to become a bus conductor. I thought to myself this was probably the ambition of only this particular individual. To my surprise at the end of class, after all had finished sharing, I realized that more than half the class actually wanted to make this their profession. I came back laughing at the incident and sharing this with my oratory companions. But hearing them I realized that they too had a similar experience. Later on I asked myself what could be the reason behind such as decision. Over a period of time I got a number of replies. The students in the village were impressed by some bus conductors who would treat them well. Thus for them this was a great act of service. For some the very fact that the conductor dealt with money and was seen with money all the time was an indication that being a conductor would mean that they would never be poor.

As time passed by I discovered a number of other reasons. At the end of it all I asked myself a question. Why did these youngsters never think of any other profession as a career? In asking this question I also realized that some of them also expressed that they wanted to become doctors and some others scientists but without actually knowing what this choice actually meant. Being a conductor, apart from doing well and earning money in a simple way assures them of a certain security. They knew what they had to do if they wanted to become bus conductors, as they inquired about the training during their chat with the bus conductors on their way to school. Even the brightest students in my class wanted to do the same.

To dare is to move out of our comfort zones and take the risk to discover and understand the immense possibilities thrown in front of us. In this case the choices were not very clear to them. But in the lives of many of us we choose the simpler path, we avoid the difficulties and stick to the easier path. In the long run we are frustrated because we end up doing something that was not for us at all. So let us dare to make the right choices and fulfill the dreams we have for ourselves than seeking for temporary pleasure. Let us leave behind a legacy so that people who know us will be able to say 'here is one who lived to the full'.

Cl Felix Almeida