When You Act Just As Normal As the Next Person
And you thought you were special
I recently met up with my friend, Dorothy, whom I haven’t seen for years. She’s a Scot, but I don’t hold that against her; we all have our afflictions.
We had a lot of catching up to do; I had forgotten how our chats often turned philosophical. She told me about another friend of hers, a woman who has been an air steward for many years.
One day a man entered the business class cabin. He huffed, and he puffed, slammed his overhead locker, demanded champagne, complained about the legroom, the temperature, the seatbelt. Our air steward observed all this. When it was time for take-off, the man slammed his tray table closed and glared at the air around him.
The air steward went over to him, kneeled beside him and quietly said, ‘Sir, you seem angry. Is there anything I can do to help?’
Instantly, the man drooped, and all his bluster evaporated. He removed his glasses, rubbed his eyes and explained that yes, he was not feeling good. He had lost a deal he was expecting. He poured out his worries, concerns and fears and when he finished, he was a changed man: empty, tired, calm.
I’d been thinking about this tale ever since she told me. How powerful, how magnificent it is when we seek not to…
