At the Airport

"Airport" CC BY-SA 2.0 by Jorge Díaz. Flickr.

I recently had the great privilege of going through an airport. (That’s not sarcasm; as much as we are hearing about the challenges in airports these days, I fully recognise that the ability to travel somewhere is a special privilege.)

And in airports, we see a microcosm of our best and worse selves…

The 'worse' parts I’m intentionally choosing not to write about: we all know that society seems to be especially angry and cantankerous these days.
But the best parts: those I want to highlight.
Because I think the world could use some positivity!

Like the people standing in line who entertained another family’s wiggling toddler when the mom looked to be at the end of her rope.

Or the person who, having missed their flight and been rebooked on a *much* later flight, offered to buy the ticketing agent a coffee – as they recognised they were having a bad day too.

Or the (unrelated) people who helped translate some directions to minimise confusion at the baggage screening area.

Or the tall traveler who helped the short traveler to get their carry-on stowed in the overhead bin.

Or the kindly woman who asked the crying traveller if they were OK, and could she help.

Or the people who made extra effort to say please and thank-you, excuse me and sorry; who offered visible smiles behind the masks.

Or a hundred other small things that happened, that helped make the day better.

It doesn’t take much; and it doesn’t have to be at an airport.
But in focusing on the small things that make the world better, the angry moments seem to take less of a hold in our hearts and our experiences – and by doing so, we don’t allow that negativity to normalise and become dominant.

So while an airport can bring our best or our worst, our everyday can bring these out as well. And while it’s easy to get caught up in the negativity, it can also be easy to encourage ourselves and others into a cycle of positivity too.

Eph 4.29: Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear.