Today, while in an airplane soaring thirty-nine thousand feet above the ground, I had a few thought provoking epiphanies. These three seemingly obvious, yet astoundingly ground-breaking, realizations are as follows:

1) Every single one of the seven billion people living on this planet see the world through their own set of eyes, just like you and I do.

Let me explain. This isn’t to say that everyone does not have his or her unique perspectives, opinions, and experiences, but rather that I am not the only person in the world who perceives the world around me. Every other person that I encounter sees himself or herself reflected back in a mirror. To them, I’m just another human walking around with no significance to their lives. It’s easy to get caught up in my own life and forget that this world does not revolve around my day-to-day experiences.

2) Every individual surrounding you is dealing is his or her own problems.

We’ve all got problems. Some big, some little, some public, some that only we know about ourselves. There is not a single person in this world who does not face his or her own set of challenges, whether you are aware of them or not. The guy I accidentally hit with my laptop case in first class? He’s struggling with something. The lady beside me who’s been asleep since before the plane took off? She’s facing obstacles all her own. The people driving the cars that look so tiny from this height that I have to squint to see them? They’re caught up in their own whirlwind of everyday issues. In fact, from their perspectives, they might look up to see a glimmer of a plane up above, completely unaware that first class guy, sleeping lady, and myself are up here at all, thinking about our own struggles and how to deal with them.

3) Being kind is not difficult, but it makes all the difference.

Because we don’t know what people are dealing with, we cannot know how our own actions may affect them. However, radiating kindness in every situation helps to spread even more kindness that is reflected in those that are shown it. Yesterday at IHOP, the waitress seemed very nervous when my family’s food took much longer than usual to get to our table. Were we hungry? Of course we were. Did we want our pancakes ASAP? You bet we did. But, instead of getting frustrated with the waitress or the cooks, we chose to smile and assure her that we understood completely and that we were not upset with her or the others in the slightest. The girl was actually stunned that we would treat her with such grace. She told us that it is very rare for people to not grow angry or frustrated when those situations occur, and that our kindness towards her had made her morning. Can you believe that? People get so upset over a few more minutes wait for pancakes that they actually grow hostile to girl who has no control over the situation and who, as I mentioned in my last point, is a human being dealing with her own personal trials every single day. My friends, kindness goes a long way. Choose every day to smile, use your manners, and do little things to put others’ feelings before your own conveniences. If we all made it a point to reflect the kindness we wish to see in others, just imagine how this world would be a different place!

"Three things in human life are important. The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. And the third is to be kind."

- Henry James