I just returned from 19 days in Europe with a cold, depleted immune system, a bag of souvenirs for the grandchildren—and a few thoughts about the experience.
Our flight from Newark to Frankfurt was fine and without problems. We had to clear passport control in order to reach our gate for the connecting flight. We followed the signs directing us to the right place, where we were met with complete chaos (so un-German). It was just a mass of people, no lines, no instructions, no officials, all trying to get through some obstacle ahead.
We had ninety minutes to make our flight, which, according to the person at the gate, was “no sweat.” Thirty minutes later, still not moving, someone standing with us in the sea of people told us that airport control was diverting people to a different area to go through the process.
We turned around and headed back toward our original point of entry to find, YES, another mass of people. No lines, no officials, just chaos.
The clock was ticking, and we now had around 40 minutes to make our flight. My wife was getting agitated as people were starting to cut what was trying to become a line. Finally, an airport official showed up and sent people back to the end of the line. I was surrounded by constant griping, complaining, and anger from all sides.
I turned to Wendy and said, “There are flights to Hamburg every hour. There’s nothing to get stressed about.” With approximately fifteen minutes until flight time, we presented our passports and dashed for the gate. Upon arrival, we discovered that they had delayed flights to allow passengers to get through the madness. We found our seats with minutes to spare before the gate closed.
Lesson: If you’re going to survive and thrive through chaos, patience and clear thinking are a pretty good way to go.
Can you see the parallels to life in general? After all, chaos, unexpected occurrences, and stress all become part of the ingredients of life. It’s all in how you deal with it.
