Listening to the wind of change
It’s a cold night of April in Frankfurt, Germany. I’m standing on the edge of the platform, scrutinising the horizon, trying to catch the shape of a train as soon as it appears. I just spent the last twenty minutes trying to converse with my buddy so that he doesn’t fall asleep. I failed. His muscles are already completely relaxed. The back of his head resting on top of the bench’s backrest in a weird and seemingly uncomfortable angle, and I can hear the typical snoring some people make when they just start falling asleep, right before it becomes really loud and uncontrollable.
Suddenly, passengers that were sitting on the other side of the platform stand up and gather around the arrows on the ground conveniently showing where the doors will be.
“It’s coming! Don’t sleep buddy!”
As I’m running towards my friend, I can hear the train’s brakes squeaking in my back. I pull his arm but he’s too heavy. After what seems like minutes of shaking and (gentle) slapping, he finally mutters something and gathers his last forces to push on his legs, put his arm around my shoulders, and let me guide him to the doors. The loud signal warns us they’re going to close themselves anytime now. The last meters feel like a scene from an action movie where the hero leaves the building just before it explodes. Except there are no explosions. And no heroes. But just like in the movies, the timing is right. The train leaves, and we’re on the good side of the doors.
Or is it the train of change?
I often recall anecdotes like this one when thinking about the time spent with my dear friend when he was still alive. This one in particular happened when leaving the biggest music industry fair in Europe and appeared to be a perfect illustration of how we sometimes need to concentrate all the energy we have left to hop in the train of change and not fall asleep on the side.
Of course, depending on your own situation, that train could represent anything:
engaging the conversation with someone,
becoming a parent,
starting a new career,
anything really!
In my case, in those days, it was a pretty good metaphor of me starting my own company with a friend, in another city, and leaving my old corporate job behind.
As soon as there are people moving, the immobile say they flee — Jacques Brel (Belgian singer/songwriter)
Today, self-employment and all the challenges that it comes with don’t scare me anymore. But the environmental and social crisis does make we worry for my child’s future.
This Newsletter is me riding a new train, the train of writing about my journey to become an eco-conscious developer and environmentally-friendly entrepreneur : an EcoHacker.
If you’re interested in following along, I’ll explore what I’ve already had success with:
Remote work
Choices of tools and tech
And what we (individually and as a society) could do better:
Green tech
Energy and resources consumption
Recycling
Right to repair
Work organization
And there is so much more to explore!
Together, we’ll figure out how to make the present good, and the future better (or at least better than expected)!