The interconnectivity of us all ...
Today’s story begins on the 8th of August, 36,000 feet above planet earth, on a plane somewhere over Europe, when someone suddenly falls seriously ill.
The pilot is forced to touch down at the nearest airport and the patient together with their family is transferred to the nearest hospital. Hundreds of people on that plane have their travel plans disrupted. Connecting flights are missed and frantic phone calls are made. Some people get sad and some get mad. None are glad.
But our story does not end at the help desk in a foreign country in Europe. The consequences of this mishap are felt all over the world, even here in Hamilton. Let me explain.
The plane that had to touch down was on its way to Melbourne to be refuelled and refreshed with those little itty bitty pillows and hygienically sealed blankets. This plane was then supposed to take Jeanine and me onto Los Angeles which of course it didn’t, or rather couldn’t. Our flight is delayed by 24 hours and there is nothing anyone can do. So we too are a little sad and mad. Then we get in touch with our daughter in New York and the tentacles of melancholy spread around the world with the speed of the internet.
Our biff is not with the airline, our concern is for the patient and their family. The lesson we re-learn is the interconnectivity of us all. We might like to pretend that we are on our untouchable little island, but we are connected in ways that we do not realise or comprehend. We therefore must go gently and tread lightly. Be patient with the staff on the other side of the help desk and with each other, for we are more interconnected than we first thought.