Last month I was taking a flight from the busy IGI airport, Delhi. A teenage girl & her family looked quite anxious and came and stood right next to me as I was printing the boarding pass at the self check-in kiosk.
I noticed they were pointing repeatedly to my screen & trying to figure something out. I turned around to ask if I could help, the girl struggled to explain in English that they were flying back home to Shanghai and couldn’t figure out how or where to get their ‘tickets’. They then handed some papers to me, which it turns out was actually their ticket but mostly printed in Mandarin. It was my turn to be clueless!
I didn’t know how to help them right away, since, I couldn’t understand a word on it and the airport staff I asked around shrugged indifferently. I imagined myself in their situation feeling lost in a foreign land. I also felt that were guests visiting our country. I knew I had to help.
I found a clue, as I googled the airline code ‘CZ’(China Southern Airlines). After scanning the surroundings, I spotted a help desk and got the check-in information for them and managed to explain it with some difficulty. She expressed her relief and gratitude with a hug and a big smile. It warmed my heart. I wished them a pleasant journey back, as I rushed off to check in for my own flight.
As I walked on ahead, I was able to do a bit more, whether it was smiling at others or giving way in the long queues, thanking & tipping the cleaning staff in the washrooms to helping an aged woman climb the bus and offering her a hand and a seat or helping out somebody with their bags. There was plenty to do as I looked around. Like a chain reaction, each small act of kindness led to another and filled my heart with some more joy and lightness of spirit!
Takeaway
There’s always someway you can help another and find your own joy, you only have to take a look around.