Speaking of Peace Making
So, just after blogging about peace making, I get off the train from Marraksh, and am confronted by the only place in all of Dar Baida where the taxi drivers consistently try to rip you off- the main train station. One guy asks me if I want a ride, and I said sure, to Kenisat Moulay Yahya (St. John's Church). Then he tells me that it will be 20 Dirham- twice the actual rate. Now the thing is, here it's illegal to have a small taxi without a working meter. But tourists don't know that, so they try to rip you off at the train station. So I told the guy no, and went to the next guy. Who did the same thing as the first guy.
I had a choice here. I chose to bring up to the taxi driver that if he wouldn't give me the meter price, I'd call the police and report him. (That's a standard option, if you want to go through the trouble, that will often work in getting a taxi driver to reform and by a miracle suddenly have a working meter.) He didn't care, so I told him Hshuma, Hshuma muk- shame on you and your mother. (At times a powerful argument in a shame-based culture.) He still didn't care. I went on to another taxi and took it to the church.
Yeah, I might have lots of opportunities to break up fights, but as far as creating peace myself, I have a lot to learn. I find it is when I am impatient that I am least desirous of creating peace. Tired of dealing with one more person trying to rip me off. I could have probably diffused the situation much more effectively telling the taxi driver with a smile, "Look brother, I'm not a tourist- I live here. We both know we need to use the meter- let's just do this and move on." But instead, I chose to escalate the situation, and not create peace.
Every day, every minute, it's a choice on how to respond to people- out of love and a desire for peace, or the shortest route to get what I need done. Love is inconvenient- I don't think at times, I think always. It's a pain in the ... If I'm honest, I don't want to do it most of the time. I want the easy way out. I'd rather not die to myself.
I had a choice here. I chose to bring up to the taxi driver that if he wouldn't give me the meter price, I'd call the police and report him. (That's a standard option, if you want to go through the trouble, that will often work in getting a taxi driver to reform and by a miracle suddenly have a working meter.) He didn't care, so I told him Hshuma, Hshuma muk- shame on you and your mother. (At times a powerful argument in a shame-based culture.) He still didn't care. I went on to another taxi and took it to the church.
Yeah, I might have lots of opportunities to break up fights, but as far as creating peace myself, I have a lot to learn. I find it is when I am impatient that I am least desirous of creating peace. Tired of dealing with one more person trying to rip me off. I could have probably diffused the situation much more effectively telling the taxi driver with a smile, "Look brother, I'm not a tourist- I live here. We both know we need to use the meter- let's just do this and move on." But instead, I chose to escalate the situation, and not create peace.
Every day, every minute, it's a choice on how to respond to people- out of love and a desire for peace, or the shortest route to get what I need done. Love is inconvenient- I don't think at times, I think always. It's a pain in the ... If I'm honest, I don't want to do it most of the time. I want the easy way out. I'd rather not die to myself.
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