The third in a series on Being Kind, Always at My Take By Tamara.com.

Awareness is the first step to making kindness happen. Writing these weekly essays greatly increases my awareness and I hope you find them helpful in your own efforts to be kind. And I know you are ALL trying to be more kind! 😉

Beyond awareness, however, it’s good to know about certain places where kindness can be a bit harder. Places with an additional level of aggravation built in to the experience, which, in turn, may bring out the snarky, bitchy behavior in some folks. But being kind under difficult circumstances can be especially rewarding, providing a warm, inner glow that’s just as good as, and better for you than, an alcoholic buzz. 🙂

For me, the airport is just such a place.

If ever a human is made to feel like an animal, it’s at the airport. The process is inconvenient, inefficient and anxiety-inducing: shuffling through long security lines; watching inexperienced travelers walk through the scanner with metal jewelry on; unpacking and repacking your belongings; paying exorbitant prices to buy relatively inexpensive liquids you can’t bring into the security zone; all this if your flight is on schedule, much more if it’s not and on top of all that fun? Lots and lots of people – all of them strangers to whom I am trying to be kind.

On a recent trip, I found myself being kind and less than kind within the span of two minutes.

Preparing to board, another woman and I approached the gate agent at the same time. At that very moment, I thought of being kind (funny how that works) and told her to go ahead of me. She was clearly surprised. It felt good.

Upon boarding the plane, the flight attendant told me to check my carry on bag – the size of the plane allowed only for personal items in the overhead bins. I had just locked my bag and now had to unlock it to remove my medications and my computer, close and re-lock it, add a tag and leave it on the ramp with all the others.

I found this inconvenient and annoying. I felt mildly aggravated. Okay, maybe not mildly.

Upon re-boarding the plane, I asked the attendant why the ‘no carry-on’ status of the flight wasn’t announced in advance. My tone may have been a wee bit snarky… She said an announcement was made at the gate. Dissatisfied with that answer, I asked why it wasn’t announced earlier so we could pack and plan accordingly. She shrugged and said she didn’t know. I could tell by the look on her face what she thought of the question – not much – and she clearly had more important things to do in preparing for the flight.

So I lost the glow of being kind and sat down in an aggravated frame of mind. Ugh!

Was I technically unkind to the flight attendant? Maybe not but I certainly wasn’t kind either and that’s what I’m trying to be, always.

But life is about learning and this experience will elevate my awareness. In fact, now that we’re all aware we can do something about spreading kindness at our airports.

By my next trip, currently unplanned and at least several months from now, I expect to find the airport a better place. ‘Cause you know this blog is THAT influential! 🙂

Share this post with your friends, check back Thursday for more pictures from Maine and be sure to read next Monday’s essay on Being Kind, Defined.