Compassion…Some Have It & Some Don’t!

Tuesday, May 26, 2009; Srinagar Airport

We were to board the Go Air flight G8-604, Srinagar to Jammu scheduled departure at 10:05 am. Traffic jams and frequent Security Checks (which start much before one enters the Airport), made us reach the Airport at 9:10 am. Comfortable, thought we!go_air

Quickly we made our way to the two Go Air counters and joined a queue for boarding passes et all.

While we await our turn and are at the far end of the queue, Security Check is announced for our flight . Some questioning revealed that BOTH the counters were operational for 2 flights: Our flight G8-604 departing at 10.05 am and G8-151 departing at 10:25 am.

Since G8-604 was to depart earlier than G8-151, Go Air officials asked the passengers of Flight G8-151 to give way for passengers for G8-604.

And guess what… not a single passenger of G8-151 moved from his/her place in the queues. So the officials acted on the next best option. They started asking each person. And finally they were able to form a third queue for flight G8-604. Since the counters could not accommodate a 3rd queue, people of Flight G8-151 were asked to step back.

And now again, no one budged and 2 “gentlemen” started arguing, as to why they should be stepping back. ..they have been waiting in the queue for a long time…blah blah blah. The official’s request of ‘he’d get the boarding passes for them while they relax in the waiting area’ was turned down too!

Anyways, to cut the story short, we got our baggage tagged amidst overflowing trolleys, thoughtless fellow travelers, feet getting smashed either by people or by the trolleys and endless ‘Excuse Me’s’

The point is…How can people be so insensitive, rude, stubborn, disrespectful, self-absorbed, thick-skinned and callous??

It’s common sense and common knowledge that no flight would have left without taking the passengers, once they are at the airport. So why this kind of behavior? What if they were to board the flight G8-604? How much effort does it take to step a little back and help fellow travelers?

Where is the compassion for fellow beings? Compassion

I know that many people do not have compassion…period. Some can admit it and others have no clue.

Compassion is a profound human emotion prompted by the pain of others.

Compassion can be as simple as making a donation, or volunteering in a neighboring slum. It is the smile we give to a homeless person; the kind word to the salesman; and respect and patience we give to an elder who may need us to repeat ourselves.

In our day to day life, we often feel compassion. Everyday we get to know about some terrible disaster or a terrorist attack. We realize that many people suffer because of these tragedies. We know, what those people might feel, we feel great compassion towards them. And it is this feeling that creates our humanity.

Only a person, who has a helping heart and who renders their service for the good of their fellow human beings, is a MAN. Those who fail to, remain ANIMALS forever.

So, beginning today, as Og Mandino had said, treat everyone you meet as if they were going to be dead by midnight. Extend to them all the care, kindness, and understanding you can muster, and do it with no thought of any reward. Your life will never be the same again!!

PS: This post is dedicated to all those who said in ‘A Question Post’ that they would like to see some ‘Thought Provoking Articles’ on “A rose is a rose is a rose!”

Images Courtesy: http://4nspl.com/ & lucifersabode.blogspot.com

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