Be Kind to All You Meet...

I've been reading the most bittersweet blog over the last 2 months. It's written by a man named Matt, who, in the blink of an eye, became a single father.

His wife died barely 24 hours after giving birth to their daughter. Liz only saw their daughter Madeline once- immediately after delivery. Both mother and baby were too sick to be together during those first 24 hours.

On Liz's way to see Madeline in the NICU, she collapsed and couldn't be revived.

Heartbreaking.

Matt's blog chronicles life with Madeline without Liz. Unimagineable.

But what makes me write about this blog now is an entry I just read a few minutes ago. Matt relates the story of traveling with Madeline outside of the US for the first time and the people he's encountered along the way. Basically, he ran into some less-than-kind employees at the airport: People who sent him the wrong way, gave the wrong information, were less than helpful (in a nutshell). Read it here.

Without going into all the detail, I just wonder if they'd known about Matt's life, would they have taken an extra minute to help him? Would they have been just a little more patient?

The thing is, they didn't know- nor could they have known. And that brings me to my point:

"Be kind to all you meet, for everyone is fighting a great battle."

I don't know who first said this- I read it years ago in a Buddhist book. It stuck with me.

We don't know the garbage people are dealing with on the inside. We don't know what battle(s) they may be fighting. So why not make life easier on each other? Why do we rage at people who try our patience? Why do we "lose it" over the smallest infraction (perceived or actual)? And all this anger and impatience and unkindness does nothing for ourselves- it makes us angrier and more impatient and more unkind.

Life is hard enough. Why can't we make it easier on each other?