The Business of Busyness

I had an opportunity to travel with work recently. I don’t know about your experiences, but travel usually means waiting in my world.

And so I did.

I waited at several airports for long periods of time. Waiting gave me time to observe. People watch, if you will. I don’t do this often because I often operate as if I’m on “mission impossible” myself often complete with theme music in my head. Get in and get out as fast and as efficiently as possible. so the opportunity for me to slow down myself allowed me to watch others who may honestly operate like I typically do. One thing I noticed is there is a definitive disconnect between connectivity and connections. I’ll address this at the end.

First, privacy doesn’t seem to be a problem for some people. There are a lot of loud talkers out there. I, on the other hand, tend to have the opposite problem; I speak too softly. These folks talked about anything and everything at a volume that violated HIPAA. On one flight, two flight attendants conversed loudly in the back of the plane nearby where I sat. Being in the back of the plane, I couldn’t hear well anyway. When the captain made an announcement, between the two flight attendants and the general noise in the plane, I couldn’t hear the captain. The attendants appeared to enjoy themselves, laughing and talking. Guessing the announcement wasn’t important . . .

Second, some folks didn’t talk at all. They were dressed for success, younger typically, and apparently too involved in their own tech or selves to be kind to those who spoke to them or tried to serve them in some way. I witnessed this on a flight. The person had obviously been served as evidenced by his beer. As the flight attendant came by to offer snacks, she checked with him first according to the seating order. He did not look up from his mobile device and whatever he was watching at the time. To make light, the flight attendant made a joke and then checked with me and so forth.

Third, there are still good and kind people out there. I saw this many times in many different ways. I witnessed a younger man helping an older, blind gentleman. I saw older folks helping younger children. I saw a male gate attendant publicly acknowledge a veteran who was also flying and shared he was a veteran, too. Those of us also waiting to board clapped for the veterans. As I boarded, I thanked the gate attendant for his service. In addition, I experienced kindness multiple times. Frequently, several people who served me in one way or another referred to me as “young man.” That felt great!

What can we learn from my observations and experiences? How can we be more like Jesus?

I think the lesson is pretty easy actually. No matter your predicament, your position or title, your wealth, or your perceived level of importance (whether real or otherwise), we all can do a better job of being more aware of others and serving them better. By serving, I don’t mean completing a task; I mean interacting with another person as joyfully as possible. We can take time to put our phones down and make some connections. Just because we’re connected, doesn’t mean we’re having great interactions. If we’re having conversations, we can be aware that not everyone around us is interested in what we’re discussing. Sometimes, listening is best. If our tendencies are to remain quiet, perhaps we consider taking some risks and speaking up. We can pay attention to social cues or expectations. For example, if the expectation is a flight attendant will come and eventually check to see how s/he can serve you, be aware; pay attention.

No matter how important we think we are, how wealthy we are, how busy we are, etc., we can take a few moments and be kind to others. The last time I checked, we all walk on the same ground. We all belong to the human race and reside on planet Earth. If we learn some of these lessons, I think we’ll be on our way to leading like Jesus and conquering the busyness of business.

#travel #busy #business #kindness #love #Jesus #Christ