Be Kind

I hope you all had a nice weekend. I spent a couple of days in Manhattan last week with my daughter which was great. On our flight back to Florida on Thursday evening there was a young family on the plane. They had a son who was probably 10 months old. I saw them at the gate waiting to board and the little boy had his pajamas on. They boarded the plane and were sitting in the row in front of me.  The parents set up his car seat and got him all ready to go to sleep. The plane took off but the poor baby did not sleep and found himself getting more agitated the more over tired he became. The parents looked exhausted too, keeping the boy in his car seat with the hopes he would fall asleep and desperately trying to keep him quiet. I watched them not because I was annoyed at the noise but because I felt such empathy for them. It doesn’t feel that long ago that I was in that same position, trying to keep my infant or toddler quiet and get them to sleep. The parents seemed distraught that they were disturbing others and stressed out from a three hour flight trying to manage a 10 month old baby.

As we were all waiting to deplane I wanted to say something but I didn’t want it to sound contrite so I didn’t. They got off the plane before me and I instantly regretted it.  I remembered something Jack Kornfield said in one of his talks during my training about being kind. He explained that when we think of doing something kind we should just do it. Don’t let our minds talk us out of it. Practice kindness just as we would practice anything else.

As I walked off the plane I saw the young family standing off to the side waiting for their stroller. I went up to them, smiled and said “You made it! It get’s easier, I promise. My son was the same way.”  She smiled and I could see in her body a sense of relief. I am sure some of the relief came from arriving at their destination but I would like to think I helped too. Then she said “Thank you so much.” and I walked on with a smile on my face. 

So, my message this week is pretty simple. Both on the mat and off; practice kindness. If you have a kind thought, indulge it. Whatever we practice we get better at!