I felt emotional after spending ten days with family and friends wrapping their arms around me, in celebration of my up-coming nuptials. The amount of love and kindness I received was overwhelming. I couldn’t help, but feel “Do I deserve all this?” I truly wanted to post #blessed everywhere, don’t worry I avoided the urge, but I was feeling a whole lot of hashtag blessed. 

On my flight back to New York, I fell asleep on the window, about thirty minutes into my daze I was abruptly awaken by a group of people shouting, “She’s having a seizure.” The woman next to me leaped out of her seat, jumped into the aisle catching the seizing woman. She was a nurse and two other nurses also leaped into action. The nurse held the passenger as she seized and vomited in aisle. It was frightening. But what wasn’t frightening was when I looked around at all these strangers banding together to help. People were offering towels, wet wipes, water, and I was helping my seat mate get stuff she needed out of her bag, one guy ran into first class to get pillows, the fight attendant ran in with orange juice. Little things, but all towards one goal, to make sure she was ok. I was overwhelmed by the kindness I saw on this plane. Yes, she was ok.

I share this story because there is so much negative energy around us. There seems to be so much hate and fear. Yet in the middle of a Delta flight none of that mattered. Human beings are amazing. I’m always in awe of how people step up in a crisis. How race, sexual preference, gender, political views, none of that matters when crisis hits. It’s in a crisis that truth comes out. There is true clarity about what’s important. We see the simple fact that we are all just human beings, doing our very best to survive in an imperfect world.

The truth is there are mini moments like this in our every day lives. We have a choice to “see each other;” to notice the woman who is struggling in the grocery store to reach an item, to notice when someone is upset. We have a choice to ask, to help, to be apart of the world, to notice the people who are around us. This past year I have become immensely aware. I know it’s because of my mom and our battle with her breast cancer. But I notice now, and I am grateful for those who noticed me. To my friends who called every week to see if I was ok, as I looked after my mom. To a friend, who after I returned home from my mom’s first surgery, came every week to ride bikes along the ocean with me and chat. These people healed me. Life is hard. Really hard sometimes. The girl on the plane for sure didn’t think, “Can’t wait to get on this flight today and have seizure in front 100 strangers.” Are you kidding me!!?? What the fuck sometimes!! But that’s life, it’s not perfect for any of us.

If you’re lucky enough to NOT be the girl on the plane today, you’re pretty lucky. Tomorrow might be different. Tomorrow you might be the one who needs someone to bring you a pillow and orange juice. But today you’re capable of calling your friend who’s having a hard time or helping someone you see struggling. Whatever it is. Do it. Let’s see each other, not just in a crisis, but in every day life. Now I’m going to go ahead and hashtag the hell out of this blog. #blessed #minimiracles #love #kindness. All that good shit.