Week 3: Someone I Met on a Flight

An old house in Lalitpur, Nepal

I met him on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Manila. I was totally exhausted, having had very little sleep for days and coming from an unbelievable 12-hour flight from Kathmandu via Bangladesh.  All I felt at that point was relief that I was finally heading home. 

We looked at each other, said polite hellos, and before we knew it, we were engaged in a deep conversation.  I told him I came from Nepal and managed to leave only two days after my scheduled flight because of the earthquake.  He told me that he lost his wife and kids in the tsunami while having a holiday in Haiti five years ago.

I was lost for words.  He seemed to have gone a long way since the trauma of 2010 but the sadness in his eyes was apparent.  I could only mumble, “I’m sorry to hear that.  It must have been very difficult for you.” 

What amazed me was the spiritual sharing that ensued.  I could tell from the turban he was wearing that he was a Sikh.  A Sikh and a Catholic talking about faith and rising from devastation, about meaning-making and trusting in God’s bigger plans. 

What a small world we live in, how similar are we in spite of our many differences. . . if only we are willing to open our heart's doors and windows to others.