While going to the airport for holidays, our car caught a flat tire leaving us no option but to take a minicab to and from the airport. Our ride to the airport was uneventful so not much to report but on the way back something worth mentioning happened.
Our aeroplane arrived late due to heavy traffic across Europe. The first feeling after touching a ground? After ten days of sunny Spain, London felt and smelled like November: cloudy, cold and rainy (not typical weather in June).
The cab driver had no choice but to wait for us for almost an hour staying at the airport, even though the cab office knew we were coming in late.
But it’s not about logistics or any complaints about easyJet (I have none this time around). I want to talk about the driver’s gratitude. We paid him the agreed fee of £45 and gave him a £5 tip. We always tip, unless the service or the food is so bad that even Marek, my hubby, can’t convince himself to do so, although he’s much more forgiving than I am. The driver was so humbled and grateful for the £5 that I could see that he didn’t expect that.
I do have to say that I don’t often see such gratefulness even in my small community of spiritually awakened individuals. They all say they are grateful but it doesn’t feel like that. IT’s not in their body language. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not judging. I’m most likely as guilty as everyone else and most of my life I have been a very ungrateful gal.
Another gratefulness lesson came the next day when I had no choice but to call in for a mobile tire changing professional. The dude was quick; he arrived within 15 minutes all ready to roll. I asked him if he wanted something warm to drink since it was bloody freezing outside. He seemed deadly surprised by the offer but still said “No, thank you. Just go inside, stay in the warm and once I’m done I’ll call you.” When he was all finished and done I kindly thanked him for his service and shook his hand. For a split second, he was unsure of my intention but then extended his hand and his gratitude flowed in from his soul. I didn’t notice this before but he was missing two fingers and of course, his hands were dirty from the work he had just done. When I looked up at him, his eyes were filled with gratitude.
Being grateful for “so-called small things” is what makes us human. That’s one of the reasons how and why we connect on a deeper and more meaningful level, instead of being detached from each other, which only brings fear, distraction and war.
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