A Sing-a-long with Moana

When waiting at the airport for a flight people behave in a variety of ways. There is the rude flyer who thinks they are privileged and none of the rules of etiquette apply to them. There are the silent who wait with no interactions or noise. There are the busy who are on email, on their phone, reading, arranging, or listening to something. There are the sleepers, the eaters, the drinkers, and the walkers.

While sitting, waiting and watching a movie I noticed all the people around me. All the flights were delayed and everyone in the terminal was in the same situation. And then my heart filled with hope. The woman in front of me, to the right, was enjoying the movie with the rest of the crowd. She was obviously a cancer survivor and she provided perspective for us all. She sang along with Moana, the children, and savored the moment. She enjoyed her family and gladly sat and waited for her flight. Her presence allowed me to realize that nothing that was happening in my world was anywhere as important as her battle with that dreaded disease. Nothing that was being delayed or canceled needed to be an area of stress. When compared to cancer, waiting at the airport is really nothing.

To the left there was a man making a nuisance of himself over not being able to get onto a flight. He berated the airline employee, spoke very unkind and blunt words, and generally made everyone around him uncomfortable. Someone in line behind him tapped him on the shoulder and pointed to the woman who was a cancer survivor; it had no impact on his behavior whatsoever. He said a few more choice words then stormed away, cussing and talking badly along his way out. He made a spectacle of himself and showed his true character to everyone in the area.

We all have things in our life that throw us for a loop. It may be missing a flight or getting delayed; it may be boredom or even cancer.  Everyone does not have the same experiences, pressures or problems, yet we all have the same choices on how we are going to handle it. It’s not the situation that defines us, it is how we react. I was reminded during this wait that how we handle life under pressure says more about our character than all the words we utter. So I started singing along with Moana, the children, and the cancer survivor, and put everyone else into perspective.