Too often we say, “It’s not my problem,” when we’re tired or self-focused. I’ve said it too. But maybe being human means seeing someone else’s difficulty as, in some small way, ours. Kindness isn’t optional—it’s a responsibility.
Every flight since has felt different. I see the nervous first-time flyer, the exhausted parent calming a toddler, the elderly couple double-checking their gate. I see them. And in seeing them, I see the person I want to be.
That quiet plane ride taught me more than any book or seminar. Life isn’t about arriving faster. It’s about how we treat those traveling beside us.
She showed me that kindness doesn’t need to be loud to be meaningful. Sometimes it’s as simple as not leaning back. And sometimes, that small choice is enough to lift the weight of indifference—if only for a moment.
