I couldn’t believe it. As I walked through the TSA Security of the airport, I forgot I had a mint in my pocket. Any time I travel I always just pull out everything from my pockets and send it through the x-ray machine. But I forgot the mint. Now, I fully appreciate the thoroughness of so many airports and their security checks. After my arms were raised high and the machine swirled around me, the secondary agent asked me to step aside. Whenever that happens, I immediately think, “What did I forget?” THE MINT. I was asked to identify what was in my pocket. As I reached towards my pocket, my had was grabbed, prevented from entering my pocket. Again, I was asked about the contents of my pocket. I immediately communicated to the now three agents that the item in my pocket was a mint. I was then directed to pull out the mint which I did and revealed its identity to the agents. Then, as if nothing had happened, I was told to proceed. They did their job effectively and I was on my way.
Today, our society experiences so many situations where life presents opportunities to go “hyper” with our emotions and actions. Yet, we each have the same choice. We can elevate our heart rate or remain calm. We can get upset with any perceived inconvenience or we can just take a short deep breath, pause, and then proceed with life. We can overreact emotionally and make it all about ourselves or we can just accept that moment for what it is, a moment in life and empathize for the other person(s).
I think we can all admit that we are living in a Hyper-emotional period of time where the trend is to lean toward a polarizing viewpoint in almost every aspect of life. I have found that when I experience a hyper-emotional choice moment, it benefits me greatly when I PAUSE before responding verbally or with any action. I am totally responsible for any of my actions, not any other person. The more I can discipline myself and work on myself personally, the better I prepare myself for living a daily life of appreciating others. When I appreciate others, I place others before myself. This life perspective allows me to react properly when confronted with potential “hyper” situations. I’m sure I have reacted before and might even react negatively in the future. But encourage all of us to work hard at developing a positive perspective/outlook on others and push hard to discipline ourselves to create a better version of ourselves, one day at a time.
By the way, the mint came in handy as it not only quenched my hunger after those meager snacks on the plane, but it also allowed me to have a close-up conversation with my wife without getting that stare and/or comment about my bad breath.