Curtis Cunningham on technology, music, dogs, and life.

I got up super early the other day to catch a plane to fly to northern California for a few days for a number of customer meetings. I got up before 5am so I could be at the airport for a 7am flight.

For many people around Los Angeles getting up at 5am to do a 1.5 to 2 hour commute to be at work for 8am is actually pretty common. I say this is super early as 10+ years ago when I did a lot of music, more often than not I’d actually be going to bed at 5am.

So there I am, having parked my car in the airport parking, sitting bleary eyed on the shuttle with just me and the shuttle driver on the bus, ambling towards the terminals, when he strikes up a conversation.

He seems much more friendly than the regular drivers and I feel very comfortable chatting with him. I end up asking him if he’s just started working or just finishing, and he says he’s just finishing. I ask if he prefers working nights or if he’d rather work regular hours. He responds enthusiastically saying he prefers nights as it’s really convenient to allow him to get home, freshen up, and give him enough time to get to his other job which starts at 8am.

…

I know I continued talking to him after this but I really can’t remember what we talked about. I was so blown away by that comment, with all it said about him and his attitude towards life, and about my attitude towards my own extremely comfortable lifestyle. That was a couple of weeks ago and I have to say it’s turned the volume way down on my own internal (and sometimes not so internal) whining.

Too often I lose track of the crux of how things work. I forget that things are the way the are, not because of me, but in spite of me. None of us are important in the grand scheme of things. I am where I am through my own choices. I need to let things/people be how they naturally are. If I’m not happy with what I’m experiencing then I need to evaluate what I’m getting out of a situation and if it’s not worth it to me then I need to move away from it. More focus is needed on having a quality journey.

If you’re not convinced, then just wait until the next big asteroid hits (I’ve read we’re overdue) and there’s no trace that life even existed in this solar system. Then come and find me at the bar in the afterlife and tell me your worries really were justified