The Kindness of Strangers - Joan

           I am hardly an international business tycoon, generally more used to titles like mother, wife, sister, friend, author, consultant, volunteer – even so, I have logged nearly 100,000 air miles since January and it's just barely mid-year! I guess that’s why so many of my experiences are travel-related ones, like the story of James – our inaugural blog, which was the first time I experienced an airport miracle. But there have been others, like the time I was in Puerto Rico returning to California to regroup before a miracle talk in Boston, where after slipping and fracturing a couple of vertebrae in my back, through the kindness of strangers my heels got swapped for sneakers that were tied ever so gently before being escorted to the next airplane gate so I could make it home. The folks who helped didn’t know me from Adam and yet they stopped, even after I signed my life away by refusing transport to the local hospital.

          I was reminded of the kindness of strangers again this month when I found myself debilitated because of a solid nose plant on the armrest of my airplane seat while boarding the plane. (Long story but suffice it to say people should always move to allow entry to the window seat instead of becoming a tripping hazard.) With a face the size of a beach ball and having delayed the flight to await the paramedics, I was stunned when the woman across the aisle introduced herself and said she’d look out for me if I needed anything. From my “reclining” position with a face mask of ice, “Just raise your hand,” she said, “and I’ll get help.” As if she didn’t have enough to do with occupying her 10-month old on the 6-hour flight across the country.

          It is in moments like these where human connection occurs, a kindness generated by kindred spirits being willing to help each other without the pretense of anonymity or isolation. It is as G. K. Chesterton said, “We men and women are all in the same boat [or plane], upon a stormy sea, and we owe each other a great and terrible loyalty.” The Broadway musical Come From Away celebrates this connection in the story of the 38 commercial jets that were forced to land in Gander, Newfoundland after the events of September 11, 2001 and the townspeople who took them in. As Gander Mayor Claude Elliott says, “What we consider the most simple thing in life is to help people. You’re not supposed to look at people’s color, their religion, their sexual orientation — you look at them as people.” It is a stirring illustration of human nature at its best.

          These miracle moments, and yes, that’s what I think they are, like Katie’s bus ride with hero Rose Mapendo, Meb’s trip to Chicago to the Oprah Show and the plane ride home where she had her own "A-ha" moment, the sharing of the myriad of miracle stories we have had the honor of hearing, are the daily moments of life that are worth remembering and celebrating. Just this week social media has come alive with the story of 15-year old Clara and her example of becoming a miracle for a gentleman on her plane. These stories bring hope for resilience, for forgiveness and for building faith in humankind.

          Yes, I am a “half full” person; my Rocky Raccoon face is already fading, but the warmth of another person’s caring will remain with me for a lifetime and remind me to pay it forward by being kind to others. These are the miracle gifts we can give each other, spreading kindness and connection in our personal spheres that can ripple outward and begin a wave of everyday miracles ultimately touching each of us. (Joan)