Searching for Significance 

 

A good writer is always on the lookout for signs of significance – an SOS signal - a tipoff that there's something important in this event, this story or this conversation.   To recognize SOS signals, we need to filter out the noise – and keep alert for cosmic cues. On many rides I see passengers totally fixated on their mobile screen.  Often it takes only a small gesture to break through - to make someone feel welcome – feel listened to. It's all in the way the gesture is offered – with a soft touch that penetrates the walls we erect around ourselves. Good drivers can touch the passenger emotionally and psychologically.  This is a book about soft touches – about small gestures – about listening  and about breaking through the isolation – my isolation and the isolation of those who the Uber and Lyft Gods tapped on the shoulder to be my passengers few minutes between appointments and events.  This is a book about transcending isolation – about feeling connected – and about searching for significance.