I was talking to a friend this morning. She told me a marvelous story. Her son was travelling somewhere and had bought a seat. I can’t remember if it was plane or train. As he sat there, an Arabic man appeared above him and started yelling. Neither person spoke the language of the other.

The young fellow spoke softly as the other one continued to rant. He was offering to change seats. The first tried different languages but none were understood. Still he stayed calm, hoping his example would rub off.

What marvelous presence, to stay centred in the midst of a hurricane. I wondered if I could have had such a broad view in the moment.

An older Arabic man appeared and congratulated the gracious man for his meditative being. Then he spoke in Arabic to his still “foaming at the mouth” compatriot.

And the fury fell away …

Examples of kindness are everywhere, if only I have the eyes to see. The older Arabic fellow could have aligned with his countryman … in a knee jerk way. But he decided to help. My friend’s son could have escalated the situation but his mission was to defuse.

Thank God for human beings