BORN for CONNECTION

Their eyes darted back and forth scanning the stream of exiting passengers. Is that her yet? I heard them whisper. No, not her, but she should be coming soon. After a pause, again their eyes would scan, again they’d wait in hopeful anticipation.

I sat just four feet to their right on a waiting area step at my local airport. I too would soon be scanning faces for one that I love, but I was early and so instead I scanned the crowd.

Partners, parents, kids, friends, dogs.

All waiting, all bodies in ready attention, all eyes raising and lowering as another group streamed from the terminals.

I had never sat on these airport steps before. Wide and wooden they flanked the passenger exit point in stadium seating fashion and on this day, were heavily dotted by those waiting with readied anticipation.

It was one of the most breathtaking sights I have seen in some time.

Humanity is not lost, I thought to myself, we are still driven by love.

Still driven by relationship, still driven by connection, still driven by belonging. 

As I watched, individuals or groups would descend from the steps, greet their loved ones with words or embrace and then gather themselves towards the door.

The range of reunions was beautiful. 

One lunged toward a full embrace of her parents only to pause so she could free her left arm and ruffle her brother’s hair. Another stooped low to take his dog’s face in his hands. There were kids that cried, “Mommy!” and there were calm nods that quietly refused fanfare while loudly signaling the comfort of being known.

Welcome connection and belonging was on full display.

I cherished every moment of it.

Passion gets lost in the mundaneness of every day life, the flurry of busyness blinding us to our tethered connections with each other.

But in the moments I sat on those airport steps I was reminded of the beauty of belonging, of the need to give and receive connection, of the powerful cry of the human soul to both be the one standing in an airport waiting for another and to be the one being waited for.

We were meant for relationship.

I stepped away from the airport that day wondering at the ways I meet others with the welcome I witnessed on that day. Does my family know how much I adore them? Do my friends know how treasured they are in my life?

Day-to-day life is not an airport greeting. It is often mind-numbingly simple - the same routines, the same appointments, the same list of tasks day after day. 

But in the midst of the mundane, let us not miss the profound.

The looks that display value, the hugs that convey worth, these are treasures we can both cherish and give away. The friends, the family, the beautiful fact that we are not alone in this world. The breathtaking fact that those we care about can know that they are not alone, either. 

What a gift is life. There is pain, confusion, days we feel like we are simply not enough, but still…what a gift.

So to those who love me, thank you for being my smiling face in an airport. And to those I love, thank you for letting me be there to welcome you.

Humanity is not lost. I think to myself. We are still driven by love.