I had an interesting Lyft ride this morning to my dentist appointment. Immediately, after entering the vehicle, the driver mentions that he just dropped off his daughter at school and then asks me what I do for a living. I tell him, and then he explains that he was a doctor in India, but is unable to practice until he completes the requirements here in the United States, along with the education and residency. We continued with small talk, and then the conversation got a little more in-depth as he mentioned his wife, and then he said that he was cheating on her. I am thinking to myself, why is he telling me this?
So I just listened to him explain the backstory on why he is cheating, and I guess his justification. I needed to get to my destination, so I am withholding my opinions on the subject. He would often look up in the rearview mirror at me as if he was waiting for a response, and I would nod my head and just ask him a follow-up question. My hope was to just keep him talking until we got to my destination. He was explaining how his wife is a good person and he would not leave her because he loves her, and they have their daughter, and he did not want to break up their family. He stated that his wife has been withdrawn and has almost given up on herself and being intimate with him. I then found myself asking him if he thought that maybe his wife knew about his affair. He immediately said no. Without any hesitation, I said she knows.
We were getting pretty close to my dentist’s office, so I began saying that she probably has her suspicions, which could be the reason why she is being withdrawn and not feeling satisfied with her life and their marriage. I told him that he is not communicating his feelings with her, and is also being withdrawn from her. So what does he expect? Until they both sit down and have some real, honest communication, this problem is not going to get resolved, and it will only get worse. That is not fair to either of them or their daughter.
The last thing I said as we pulled up to my drop-off point was asking him how his beliefs as a Sikh fall in line with how he is living his life and the choices he is making. I said for me, as a born-again Christian, my goal is to live according to God’s word. The Bible is my guide on how to live my life. I asked him if it was safe to say that his Sikh religion and beliefs should dictate how he lives his life and the choices he makes. The last thing I stated was that I was not familiar with his religion’s beliefs, but that he must ask himself if how he is living this double life and cheating on his wife is right in his religion’s eyes.
He looked at me and said no, it does not match up. He then said thank you for the counseling session. As I was exiting the vehicle, I asked him again how to pronounce his name, and he said just call me Harry Potter. I said God bless you, Harry Potter.
The World of Dlo 