Holiday contrasts
It's been a while for the Swirl, but I've been going through a huge holiday contrast and didn't have time to put fingers to keys.
You see, for 5 days in mid-December, I went on a silent meditation retreat. Then for 5 days around Christmas, I visited my sister's family, which consists of a 4-year-old, an 8-year-old, a cat, and two adults in a small house.
Talk about contrast.
Retreats are slow, quiet, contemplative, and involve little stimulation of the senses. Hanging out with young children is loud, fast-paced, seat-of-the-pants, and involves constant overstimulation. Having experienced both in rapid succession, I'm feeling happy to just be back at my own home today.
I managed to meditate 3 times at my sister's house (on Christmas morning, I pulled it off by sneaking into the basement while the kids buzzed around the tree at nearly escape velocity since they weren't allowed to open anything until my parents came from the hotel). I am looking forward to a full session today. Like anything else, it becomes a habit that you miss if you can't do it. Habit formation is a property of the mind, so the best you can do is just manage it by forming helpful habits rather than unhelpful ones. Meditation is definitely a helpful one.
Coming home, I saw another contrast of sorts. I took Southwest, which you probably know has Pre-Boards and then Boarding Groups (A, B, C); seating is open beyond that. The pre-board people with small kids and wheelchairs went first, and then a family of 6 stepped up to the podium. The 4 kids were not young-- they ranged from about 11 to 16. But it was the first time any of the kids had flown on an airplane, and one was scared. The mother explained this to the guy in charge of boarding, and asked if they could pre-board so they could all sit together (otherwise, they were in the C Group and would have had no chance).
He was clearly a bit reluctant and waffled a little, then finally jerked his thumb over his shoulder and said, "Go on, now." Looking relieved, they entered the jetway with profuse thanks. He called after them, "It's only because it's the holidays, you know!" (but was smiling a bit as he said this). Obviously he was nervous about making an exception. His boss might not be happy, and more immediately, other people might demand to be made exceptions also. Luckily, we all just proceeded on board in our assigned groups after that.
When I got to the plane, he happened to be down there, I think helping to drop off something that someone needed to check. So I took the opportunity to thank him for making that exception. I was really pleased that he would let a family sit together when one of the kids was scared to fly (even if he was 12). Why not? It was a kind thing to do.
At first he looked sort of uncertain and guarded at my comment, and then he said, "Well, not everyone was so happy about it." I realized that he was unsure whether I was being sincere or sarcastic when I said, "Thank you for letting them go ahead." So I was especially glad that I had spoken up. Apparently other people had chewed him out for his choice to be kind.
What a bunch of Grinches. It was one family of six, not half the plane! And it was because their kids had never flown before and were scared! Sheesh. Is that really the time to tell them to shut up and wait their turn?
Impatience can get pretty ugly.
You see, for 5 days in mid-December, I went on a silent meditation retreat. Then for 5 days around Christmas, I visited my sister's family, which consists of a 4-year-old, an 8-year-old, a cat, and two adults in a small house.
Talk about contrast.
Retreats are slow, quiet, contemplative, and involve little stimulation of the senses. Hanging out with young children is loud, fast-paced, seat-of-the-pants, and involves constant overstimulation. Having experienced both in rapid succession, I'm feeling happy to just be back at my own home today.
I managed to meditate 3 times at my sister's house (on Christmas morning, I pulled it off by sneaking into the basement while the kids buzzed around the tree at nearly escape velocity since they weren't allowed to open anything until my parents came from the hotel). I am looking forward to a full session today. Like anything else, it becomes a habit that you miss if you can't do it. Habit formation is a property of the mind, so the best you can do is just manage it by forming helpful habits rather than unhelpful ones. Meditation is definitely a helpful one.
Coming home, I saw another contrast of sorts. I took Southwest, which you probably know has Pre-Boards and then Boarding Groups (A, B, C); seating is open beyond that. The pre-board people with small kids and wheelchairs went first, and then a family of 6 stepped up to the podium. The 4 kids were not young-- they ranged from about 11 to 16. But it was the first time any of the kids had flown on an airplane, and one was scared. The mother explained this to the guy in charge of boarding, and asked if they could pre-board so they could all sit together (otherwise, they were in the C Group and would have had no chance).
He was clearly a bit reluctant and waffled a little, then finally jerked his thumb over his shoulder and said, "Go on, now." Looking relieved, they entered the jetway with profuse thanks. He called after them, "It's only because it's the holidays, you know!" (but was smiling a bit as he said this). Obviously he was nervous about making an exception. His boss might not be happy, and more immediately, other people might demand to be made exceptions also. Luckily, we all just proceeded on board in our assigned groups after that.
When I got to the plane, he happened to be down there, I think helping to drop off something that someone needed to check. So I took the opportunity to thank him for making that exception. I was really pleased that he would let a family sit together when one of the kids was scared to fly (even if he was 12). Why not? It was a kind thing to do.
At first he looked sort of uncertain and guarded at my comment, and then he said, "Well, not everyone was so happy about it." I realized that he was unsure whether I was being sincere or sarcastic when I said, "Thank you for letting them go ahead." So I was especially glad that I had spoken up. Apparently other people had chewed him out for his choice to be kind.
What a bunch of Grinches. It was one family of six, not half the plane! And it was because their kids had never flown before and were scared! Sheesh. Is that really the time to tell them to shut up and wait their turn?
Impatience can get pretty ugly.
