We shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but we catch ourselves doing it just the same. Sometimes we do it to ourselves, thinking we’d be this much better if only we had the new, expensive phone or those fancy designer shoes. Sometimes we do it to others, believing their self-worth is somehow related to how they look or how much money they make. Sometimes we forget that we’re all created equal. We all have trials and tribulations, good times and the bad – and being materially successful rarely correlates with one’s value within.
Sometimes our experiences make us think we’re better (or worse off) than we really are – especially when we start comparing ourselves to others. But it’s important to remember that you can never truly know someone’s struggles or the things that they’ve endured.
The following story is a great reminder of why it’s important to stay humble even in the face of great success. In this tale, an entitled, rich woman believed that she was better than the other passengers on a flight. What followed was a rude awakening in the form of a very important lesson…
Follow along with the story text below.
***
An international flight
As a plane began boarding passengers for an international flight, a rich young woman stood in line, waiting for her turn.
She noticed a poor, elderly man already in line – she rolled her eyes and turned her nose up in disgust.
“I better not be sitting next to him,” she thought to herself.
A seating surprise
When she arrived at her row, she couldn’t believe her eyes.
The poor, elderly gentleman was already seated in the middle seat directly next to her assigned seat.
Without even sitting down, she turned around and yelled for a flight attendant.
A request
Immediately, the flight attendant came over and responded kindly when the young woman interrupted her and said:
“Find me another seat immediately!”
The flight attendant replied, “I’m sorry, but all the seats in Economy are completely booked.”
Completely disregarding what the flight attendant said, the young woman yelled back, “I don’t care. Figure it out because I’m not sitting here next to this worthless bum.”
The whole time, the poor, elderly man sat there listening to her insults in disbelief. He had been saving up for this flight for years and was excited to be able to visit his grandchildren across the world.
The flight attendant looked at the elderly man, back at the young woman , and said, “Let me talk to the captain about this.”
The captain’s solution
She walked to the cockpit and explained the situation to the captain. “A woman refuses to sit next to, in her words, a ‘worthless bum’. What should we do?” The captain was quick to respond. He told her, “Not a problem at all. Check that there’s a seat available in the First-class cabin.”
The flight attendant was surprised at the pilot’s response but wasted no time. She walked back to the row where the young woman and elderly man were.
“I spoke with the captain and we’re able to upgrade you to the last open seat in First Class. He would also like to apologize for having such a poor travel experience with such a terrible person.”
A rude awakening
As the woman began to stand up, the flight attendant extended a hand to the poor, elderly man and said with a smile:
“Let me help you sir, please follow me.”
As the young woman looked on in disbelief, the entire plane broke into thunderous applause.
This is a powerful reminder for us all to never look down on other people. No matter how much success you’ve achieved, it’s meaningless if you don’t know how to be a compassionate human being to others. Live your life with love and remember your humble beginnings.
You are the captain.
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