Right now, I’m sitting at the Boston airport, surrounded by tired travelers, long lines, and the familiar sound of flight delay announcements echoing through the terminal. My flight has been delayed again. There’s no clear update, just the vague promise that we’ll board soon. The funny thing about airports is that they’re one of the few places where people from every walk of life are forced to wait together, often impatiently, for something completely out of their control.
Normally, I’d be scrolling through emails or catching up on work, but today feels different. Maybe it’s the energy in the room, maybe it’s the government shutdown that has left so many people, especially those working here, doing their jobs without pay. Maybe it’s the tension that comes from watching a few angry passengers take out their frustration on airline employees and TSA agents who are just trying to do their jobs. Whatever it is, sitting here has made me think a lot about patience, perspective, and how we treat each other when things don’t go our way.
The Power of Perspective
When you travel, you expect a certain level of stress. Delays, crowded terminals, unexpected gate changes, they come with the territory. Yet somehow, when those things happen, we act surprised. We forget that we chose to enter this chaotic dance of travel. We forget that we are, in fact, incredibly fortunate to live in a world where flying is even possible.
It’s easy to lose sight of that when your plans are derailed. The couple next to me sighs loudly every few minutes, one man across the aisle is pacing while muttering about missing his connection, and a woman near the gate is arguing with the gate agent about compensation. Each person has a story, a reason why this delay matters. Maybe it’s a missed meeting, a family event, or just exhaustion after a long week. But still, I keep thinking that if this is the worst thing that happens today, we’re doing okay.
When you zoom out, you realize how small these frustrations are in the grand scheme of things. A two-hour delay feels huge in the moment, but in life, it’s barely a blip. What if, instead of focusing on what’s going wrong, we practiced gratitude for what’s going right? We’re safe, we’re healthy. We’re heading somewhere, eventually. We have the privilege of travel. And most importantly, we have the choice of how we respond to inconvenience.
Kindness in Unseen Places
As I went through security earlier, I made a point to thank the TSA officers. Many of them are showing up to work right now without pay because of the government shutdown. I can’t imagine the stress that must bring, showing up to protect and serve while bills continue to pile up and uncertainty hangs over your head. Yet, there they were, still greeting people, still moving lines along, still doing their jobs.
A simple “thank you” seemed to catch one officer off guard. She smiled, nodded, and said quietly, “We appreciate that.” It took two seconds of my time, but her expression reminded me that small acts of gratitude can carry weight, especially when people feel unseen.
Not everyone remembers that. I watched one man snap at a TSA agent because the line wasn’t moving fast enough. Another passenger loudly complained that the airport “should be better organized.” It’s hard to watch because the frustration isn’t really about the delay, it’s about control. When things are out of our control, we look for someone to blame. But the truth is, there’s rarely a single person responsible for the chaos. Most of the people we lash out at are the ones holding things together, not causing the problem.
What Travel Teaches Us
Travel is one of life’s greatest equalizers. It strips away titles and status and puts everyone, executives, students, families, and retirees, on the same playing field. We all have to take off our shoes at security. We all have to wait in the same lines, we all experience the same discomfort of uncertainty. And how we handle those moments reveals a lot about who we are.
I think travel teaches patience in a way few other experiences can. You can’t rush it. You can’t control it, you can only surrender to the process and decide how you’ll show up while you wait, you can choose to be frustrated, or you can choose to be kind, you can sigh and complain, or you can smile at the person next to you who looks just as tired as you feel.
It also teaches perspective. When you’re delayed, it’s easy to focus on yourself, your plans, your schedule, your needs. But look around and you’ll see people dealing with far greater challenges. A young mother juggling two toddlers and a stroller. An older man traveling alone who looks confused about where to go next. A service member quietly waiting to board. Every person here carries a story that’s invisible at first glance. And sometimes, just remembering that softens your heart.
Preparing for the Journey
We often prepare for travel by packing our bags, checking in online, and making sure we have our IDs ready. But maybe we should also prepare our mindset. Travel isn’t just about moving from one place to another, it’s about managing the in-between. The waiting, the lines, the unexpected changes. If we approached those parts with more grace and less entitlement, our experiences, and the experiences of everyone around us, would be a lot better.
Imagine if we all took a few deep breaths before reacting. If we all reminded ourselves that no one here wants to be delayed. That the gate agent isn’t trying to ruin our day. That the TSA officer standing on their feet for ten hours isn’t our enemy. It’s not about ignoring frustration, it’s about not letting it define us.
The people who work in airports, especially during times like these, deserve recognition. They deal with thousands of travelers every day, each with different emotions and expectations. They absorb the brunt of complaints, often with little power to change the outcome. Yet, they keep showing up. That’s something worth acknowledging.
A Shift in Focus
It’s human nature to think first about how a situation affects us. “I’m delayed”, “I’m inconvenienced.” “I’m missing something important.” But what if we shifted the focus from “me” to “we”? What if, instead of asking “What’s best for me right now?” we asked “How can I help?”
That might sound idealistic, but I’ve seen how small gestures can change the atmosphere in a room or an airport terminal. Offer to help someone lift their bag into the overhead bin. Smile at the exhausted parent trying to keep their toddler entertained. Thank the flight attendants who’ve been dealing with back-to-back flights all day. It doesn’t fix the delay, but it changes the energy around it.
We’re all connected in these moments, even if just for a short while. The way we treat one another matters. Kindness ripples outward. When one person chooses patience, it encourages others to do the same. When someone shows gratitude, it reminds others to look up from their frustration and notice the good around them.
Humanity in Motion
As I sit here listening to yet another delay announcement, I wish I could say people were softening, adjusting, or connecting. Some are, quietly and privately, but many aren’t. The tension in the room is heavy. You can feel the frustration building in the sighs, the muttered complaints, the short tempers. It’s not that people are bad or ungrateful. It’s that we’ve forgotten how to pause, how to take a breath, how to remember that everyone here is human too.
I don’t blame anyone. We’re tired. We’ve been waiting. We have places to be. But moments like this make me think about how easily we lose our sense of empathy when we’re inconvenienced. How quickly we shift from gratitude to irritation when something doesn’t go our way. Maybe that’s why patience feels like such a rare virtue. It asks us to stay calm when every part of us wants to react.
Still, even in all this, I want to believe in the better side of us. I want to believe that kindness can exist right alongside frustration. That even if we don’t always show it, we still know how to look up from our own problems and notice someone else’s. Maybe that’s where it begins. With one person choosing not to add more negativity to the air. With one person choosing to say thank you, to smile, to show grace.
We can’t control delays, shutdowns, or the weather. But we can control how we move through them. We can choose patience over anger, understanding over entitlement, kindness over complaint. These aren’t just good travel habits. They’re good life habits.
So as we wait, here in Boston or anywhere else, let’s remember that patience isn’t weakness. It’s strength. It’s the quiet confidence that says, “I can handle this.” And kindness is what keeps us connected when everything else feels uncertain.
Because at the end of the day, travel isn’t only about getting where we’re going. It’s about who we are while we wait to get there. And maybe, just maybe, that’s where humanity has the chance to rise again.
