I have been traveling over the past 2 weeks quite a bit.  In general, most of the service people at the train station and airports, while courteous, made limited human contact, and kept a distance.  I watched at the airport as several people, frustrated and anxious, were treated with efficiency but little warmth.  So as I was waiting in line I became glued to one ticket agent; as I observed her customers laughing, smiling and visibly relieved after checking bags, changing seats and handling whatever business they needed.  Clearly she was offering something to her customers that others were not.  By this time, I had been waiting in line for 30 minutes, was tired and anxious and yes, expecting to be efficiently taken care of, but did not expect to have my mood altered by kindness.

I was fortunate to be this agent's next customer.  As I approached Mary, (the name tag revealed), gave me a big smile, looked me in the eye and asked me  "How are you today?" with the warmth of a dear friend.  In that moment, I could feel my body relax and knew that someone really cared about helping me.  As it turns out, Mary herself had been working for over 7 hours and when I thanked her warmth, compassion and heart connection, she beamed and told me that is what she was committed to doing every day.  She said "Life could be hard or sweet, and my job is to help people get to the sweetness, even in hard or stressful times."   In the 5 minutes she spent with me, my mood shifted, I began to smile, relax, look other people in the eye and pass on a bit of her kindness at the airport, as I instinctively began to help strangers who were fumbling with bags, needed a seat or where I simply met their eyes and smiled.

This ordinary everyday person, touches lives each day with a conscious intention that provides compassion, love and a possibility for others to be on the receiving end of kindness and grace.  Small acts of heart, ripple out into the world and make a difference that often goes unnoticed.    For those who are wondering I did send a large testimonial on her behalf to her boss!