What Am I Saying?

Earlier this week, I was on an airplane and watched a woman pound a suitcase that obviously didn’t fit into the overhead compartment. She nearly broke the the luggage space. The flight attendant was horrified, afraid to confront her. I myself had actually taken a tape measure to our suitcases to make sure we didn’t encroach on anyone else’s space, a little obsessive, I know—clearly not an issue for her.

The day before, I spoke to a young man who was putting himself and his family at some financial risk to meet a debt that wasn’t even his. My son’s tae kwon do studio had suddenly closed due to bankruptcy. The studio had offered a “guaranteed” black belt program, which we had taken advantage of. For a flat fee, all classes, tests, and equipment needed were included, no matter how long it took, until the child achieved his (or her) first-degree back belt. Of course, when the studio closed, some families,including ours, were left without that goal being reached.

This young master, the former second-in-command, started his own studio. He felt those students had been his as well, and that he needed to honor those agreements. Legally he has no such obligation—it was an entirely new business. Perhaps even ethically he has no such duty. But he feels in his heart he needs to, and will be giving up perhaps thousands in earned income and actual expenses per month to avoid causing many other families further hardship.

I thought about the differences in these two people during the flight. Now, perhaps this woman is very nice, and her selfish act of taking far more than her allotted space is not typical of her character (even though the rest of her behavior during the flight may beg to differ). But often it is the small acts we perform every day that speak louder than we might wish, the ones we do without thought. Because those are the actions that flow from deep within our heart.

It makes me wonder, what do my actions say to others?