Cleaning Toilets

Once, I nearly became a rock star. True story!

I was the singer in one of the most popular bands in my home town and things were looking very, very bright indeed.

Pity I was miserable.

6 months later, quite by misadventure, my rock star dreams looked dashed and I was cleaning toilets to get by. And it was the best thing that ever happened to me.

In a weird way, it was just the medicine that the doctor ordered, and it kind of made me feel better, more grounded, happier even.

I know that sounds mad but if I hadn’t had that experience of bending over cleaning other people’s shit from the bowl, how would I have learned the value of humility? How would I have learned the happiness that comes from serving others.

I suppose life would have taught me the lesson one way or another, perhaps through parenthood or (considering the reckless way I used to carry on) a brush with law. But this fast and dramatic reversal of fortune weirdly made me happier on one level. And this satisfaction that comes from humbly serving others has stayed with me to this day.

Having said that, I’m quite glad I don’t clean dunnies for a crust anymore. That shit was gross.