Vol.11 No.3

Road RAGE, Air RAGE, Life RAGE…
We have hinged our sanity on impossible outcomes.
by Betsy Mayer

“Attention passengers waiting for flight 2752, with nonstop service to Honolulu. Due to holiday demand, we have a serious shortage of seats. We are offering free roundtrip tickets to anyone willing to take a later flight. If you can help us, please come to the counter at gate 54.”

I shifted the weight of my carryon baggage while calculating the implications. My husband had been on a six-week trip to the Far East while I had been immersed in graduate studies. We were meeting in Hawaii for a three-week holiday. One day less wouldn’t kill me. And a free ticket sounded very attractive.

Making my way toward a modest line of volunteers, I found it  nearly impossible to penetrate the crowd of frantic passengers demanding to get on the flight. Tempers flared and gate agents were edgy.

“I must be on that flight!” bellowed a large, well-dressed passenger so loudly that a hush fell over the crowd. “And you will see to it that I get on,” he growled, slamming his fist on the counter in front of a petite flight attendant. 

“Sir, we will do the best we can to get you to Honolulu as soon as possible. We have you on standby for the first available seat. Please take a seat nearby and listen for your name. If a seat becomes available, we will call you.”

“I will not sit down and I will not leave this counter until you get me on that plane!” he raged. Now 100 pairs of eyes focused on the scene.

“Sir, I have other passengers to help. Won’t you please take a seat?” The little woman matched his hostility with calm dignity.

As the passenger let loose with a string of obscenities, the agent picked up a phone and called security. Folding his ticket into the shape of a paper airplane he hurled it at her and then stalked off. Passengers whispered, “What a jerk! I hope no one gives up a seat for him. He doesn’t deserve it.”

I, too, felt indignant toward him. Yet, as much as I hated to let bullies call the shots, my sympathies lay with the poor airline employees, and I volunteered my seat.

Although arriving a day late was slightly inconvenient, I gained two tremendous blessings. I spent the night with a friend I hadn’t seen in five years and learned that two other friends were vacationing in Hawaii, too. We surprised them and spent a wonderful day together.

When things have gone terribly wrong for me, I often reflect on the reaction of that enraged passenger. There are no guarantees that traffic will run smoothly, planes will leave on schedule with me on board, or that life will hand any of us a fair package. But, it seems, the more options those of us in the developed world have, the less flexible we’ve become. We cannot bear the thought of even a minor inconvenience, let alone a tragedy. We have hinged our sanity on impossible outcomes.

The older I get, the more wisdom I see in accepting what I cannot change and moving forward—despite the inconveniences—because nothing can rob me of peace but my own mental attitude. The Apostle Paul wrote, “I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.”

These twelve simple words could transform your life.