“When we show a kindness to others, it in some small way makes the world a better place.”
-John David Mann, author of Code to Joy: The Four-Step Solution to Unlocking Your Natural State of Happiness
The travel world, that is, the world within airports and planes, has a life of its own. An airport, the ultimate melting pot of cultures, languages and people is a community not often recognized for being a community, but one nonetheless. Small acts of random kindness make up the lifeblood of this unlikely community, making the stresses and unpredictable changes in travel tolerable. Last night I flew home to Virginia from Salt Lake City and found myself with an unexpected three hour layover in the Dallas / Fort Worth airport. Exhausted, the extended length of my itinerary actually ended up making my day better simply due to the kindness of others that I met during my wait in one of the airport restaurants. Kindness, even small acts of it from strangers, do make the world a better place.
After a full day of travel I arrived home to find that Brandon (who lives an hour from me) had left me a small love note on my pillow to welcome me home. It doesn’t matter what the note said or didn’t say, what mattered is that his small act of kindness (the writing of a note that probably took less than 60 seconds) make me feel warm, loved and comforted after a never-ending day of travel. Small acts of kindness are like sugar for the soul, no matter who they are coming from, airport strangers or loved family members, nothing is too small or too insignificant to make a difference.
Pour some sugar out into your community. Show kindness in the little things in all that you do, in your work environment and at home, and you are without a doubt, making the world a better place.