Gesture

Generally, I get the sense that people are disappointed with humanity. That somehow we’ve failed to cultivate compassion. I’m guilty of feeling this way. I hear so much negativity always, it breaks my heart. Today, however, the pieces were mended back together because of a simple gesture. A gesture to reaffirm for me that there is simple harmony and loveliness about people.
Flying to Los Angeles, on my way home to Hawaii, the sky was supremely clear. And the pilots came on the intercom to tell us, “In a few minutes, we’ll be heading right over the Grand Canyon. If you look out to the left or the right, you’ll be able to see it straight on.”
And just a few minutes later, I peered out my window to see the amazing canyon below us. It was absolutely beautiful to be 36,000 feet up in the sky, looking through the cloudless sky to one of the most amazing natural anomalies in the world.
So it could have just been a fly over. But the pilots went another step further and dipped the plane left, so we could see more than just the rim of the canyon. The full thing was exposed to us. And to remain equitable, they then dipped the plane right, so the other people could see as well.
They gave us beauty. They gained nothing other than the joy that comes from giving. And they instantly reminded me that despite all the negative junk feeding our brains and bodies and souls, there is still positive – such tremendous positive.