Somewhere between Malaysia and India, during a regular flight, something extraordinary happened. The following anecdote comes from the social media user @the_colossal_vibe (Instagram).
The post describes the kind of encounter which touched the hearts of millions on social media.The story starts with a woman flying alone with her child. This can already be quite a challenge, especially when you fly alone with a baby. However, during a flight several thousand feet up in the air, her child began to cry uncontrollably. What happened next is remarkable.In stark contrast to annoyance or discomfort, which would be common reactions to this kind of situation when confined within the boundaries of an airplane, those around him acted kindly.
Passengers began to help one another by trying to calm down the child in any way they could. Some passengers made funny faces and some simply held the baby for a short time.For a short amount of time, the plane turned into an environment that allowed strangers to become temporary caregivers.
Entertaining a baby on a flight
Based on the posting, this impromptu act of collective generosity left a deep impression on the author of the post. The point here is not to simply help calm a screaming baby but rather to highlight what this experience represents in our culture.
When surrounded by a busy lifestyle, we have forgotten how to embrace our cultural instincts which value community life over individualism.The observer, @the_colossal_vibe shares, “We were on a flight from Malaysia to India. A mother was travelling with this little baby who was very restless and kept on crying. That’s when all the people gathered around taking turns to entertain the baby and keep him happy. You’ll only see these things happen when Indians are around.
We treat everybody like family and that’s the reason I never want to settle abroad. This little baby found a family 40,000 feet in the air and made me realise how special our culture really is.No matter where and in what situation people found themselves, lending a helping hand to those who need assistance at a given moment came naturally.
In this particular case, the help provided probably helped the stressed out mother relax a little bit, while the child found solace in being distracted by the strangers’ attention.
Finally, for all the passengers involved, this incident could become an important memory to recall many years later.Such moments are not usually covered in the news reports, but they play an important role in defining human nature. People realize that sometimes, kindness does not have to be a dramatic gesture; often it is just a friendly smile or a distracting conversation that can change someone’s day.At the height of 40,000 feet above ground level, a large group of random people decided to come together not only because of the circumstances but also because of good intentions.
