They did what?

You probably don’t know this about me, but I’m not the best flyer. I get a lot of anxiety and every strange noise or bump makes me nervous. Pretty odd, considering how much I love to travel.

I love being somewhere else, I don’t love getting there. Maybe a metaphor for life?

Needless to say, turbulence is not my favorite.

On a recent flight back from Israel, there was a bout of turbulence that really had me freaked. I was holding on to those arm rests with a death grip and ultimately I just started crying. I put my hands over my eyes to wipe the tears, but they just weren’t stopping.

The woman next to me couldn’t help but notice. I’m sure she felt my anxiety with the death grip of the arm rests. Also, I might have been crying louder than I realized.

She nudged her husband who then leaned over and asked me if I was ok. I smiled through my tears and said yes, thank you. I lied. They didn’t speak much english so we were communicating in Hebrew which I do not have a big vocabulary in. They were the sweetest couple.

They basically told me that everything is ok. He told me to breathe deeply, and that I need CBD. 😂 I actually thought he was offering me some to which I said yes, but no CBD appeared. Lost in translation.

I was so touched by their concern for me. Later, towards the end of the flight, he leaned over and asked me again if I was ok. I told him yes. He asked what helped. I said, “sleeping, and also both of you. Thank you so much.”

He then went on to explain why breathing is so important and helpful. I didn’t understand everything he was saying but I got the gist. Basically that your body doesn’t understand the difference between what is a real threat and an imaginary one. That your body thinks it’s real, but you’re ok and breathing helps to stay in the moment and not think about what might be going wrong.

I should have asked him what he did for a living because he was definitely giving coach vibes.

Having that experience restored my faith in humanity. They didn’t have to say anything to me. They could have ignored me. Talked amongst themselves. But they seemed to have compassion and caring for this stranger girl, crying by herself about turbulence, and their gesture genuinely was the reason I felt better.

There are so many moments when we can choose to ignore a fellow human going through something. and the kind thing to do, is always the right thing.

I just loved having that reminder that there are kind people out there. And that it doesn’t take much to be one of them.

Can you think of a time a stranger was nice to you? Share in the comments below. Let’s spread more good news around these parts.

All my love,
Dana