One day two women from, two, totally different worlds, stepped on the same plane together. They sat a few rows apart, and were complete strangers to each others. The woman in the back row had two small children with her, both wanting to be anywhere than in a small compact seat. The second woman sat a few rows forward, and had two older sons with her, both teenagers. As everyone took to their seats, the woman with the small children realized a man had a seat just across the isle from her and her children, and within moments of take off was already getting frustrated with the noise and commotion the young kids were making. He began to sigh loudly, and repeat how badly he wanted to move, and just a few rows forward, the woman with the teenage boys noticed the problem. She got up and offered to trade seats with the man, who gladly agreed, and the two women were directly across from each other. The woman with the older children introduced herself as Katherine, and offered to help take care of the young children belonging to the woman who introduced herself as Joanne. The two women kept the kids occupied for a while, until eventually they fell asleep, and the two women had the chance to finally talk and get to know one another.
Katherine told Joanne she was taking her two teenage sons away for a vacation to leave all the stress at home. She was recently divorced, and is already having troubles with her new boyfriend, and figured she had the worst luck on the plane. She then asked Joanne her story.
Joanne had been traveling to look at a potential new house for her and her young children. Her husband had just recently been killed in a car accident, and Joanne had ended up changing her entire life to support who two children with very little outside help. She could no longer afford their home, and wanted the very best for her children, whom she consistently referred to as her whole world, so she took them along with her to hopefully find a new place for the three of them to be. However despite these issues in her life, Joanne spoke of how hopeful and positive she remained, and refused to complain or whine about any of her situation.
Katherine's problems seemed like nothing now. She certainly was going through some hard times, but nothing compared to this young woman across the plane from her. She got on that plane thinking she had it the worst, but left with new wisdom and strength.
This story speaks volumes in the message that you really never know what life could be like for another. It is easy to think our predicaments are the worst, and we have no hope for the future, but it is so easy and simple to realize how fast we can be humbled by the problems of another. I am not saying we should take value away from our own struggles; they are primarily what we should focus on overcoming. But it becomes a new challenge to try and realize what we take for granted. It is easy to wallow in our own misfortune and think of how bad we have it, but rarely do we stop and think how bad it might be for another. Often enough, those people handle those struggles better than many of us ever could.
Like Joanne on the plane, we must strive to refuse to give many of those problems control over changing who we are. We must aim to continue to think of hope, of trust, and of faith in a better future, no matter what circumstance we are in. Once again as I mentioned in an earlier article, it becomes the skill of immersing your mind, into their world.
I challenge all of you today, to not be so selfish and only focus on your problems. To realize our struggles are not the worst of the world today, and to humble ourselves enough to recognize when another needs help, and act upon it. Rather than having negativity keep us down, to strive to look wider, and think further. Real pleasure comes not in succumbing to temptation, but in overcoming challenges, feeling confidence in your abilities, gaining fluency in overall skills, and experiencing the raw power this way of life can bring.
