Words That Never Leave You: “You won the lottery. You were born into freedom. We have to fight; we have to earn it.”
Part Thirty-Four in an ongoing series from Hollie's book "Words That Never Leave You: Fifty Pearls of Wisdom and Reflection from Survivors Across the World."
The taxi driver bumping me through Tehran traffic toward the airport is young and zestful, as is the Persian way. His name is Arash, and his voice is thick with emotion. He has two engineering degrees but bemoaned that there are no jobs, so he drives cabs twelve hours a day. He passionately instructed me to tell my people that people are not their government, that they long to live without religious pressures, and that they do not hate America.
“You won the lottery,” Arash illuminated, referring to my peaceful and prosperous birthplace of Australia. “You were born into freedom. We have to fight; we have to earn it.”
The things we take for granted – birth truly is a lottery. Those who must fight for their value and freedom often value it so much more than those who handed it on the silver platter of coming into the life.
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** Short read of meaningful lessons gleaned from the ordinary forced to become extraordinary
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