Rhymes of the Mind

I was on a WestJet flight about 10 days ago and the flight attendants were doing their pre-flight safety announcements. All those things that most of us tune out... where the exits are, floor level track lighting, oxygen masks, seat belt instructions, etc. I used to feel vaguely guilty for not paying attention and would try to watch the flight attendant, so I could at least give a semblance of attention! Now... I don't even do that. I am reading my book or looking out the window. But this one flight... things were different.

As soon as the lead flight attendant openned her mouth to begin her spiel, I could tell something was off. The first couple of lines rhymed! That was interesting... how did they manage that??? And then it continued... everything rhymed together and there was a flow and an ease with what she was saying. People began to pay attention!!! They were curious to see how she was going to make things rhyme together... and she managed it quite nicely! Perhaps WestJet is trying a new technique on their flights? Alas no, my return trip had no rhyming attendants!

Rhyme and song touch something within our spirit. They somehow stick with us and allow us to remember things that would normally disappear from our memory quickly. That's why songs and commercial jingles stick with us. Yet, as a high school student, I remember being utterly bored with poetry, finding nothing of value there. It was a chore... not a delight. This WestJet attendant found delight in creating a rhyming verse out of something that was the "same old - same old". In that moment of creativity, she touched a whole plane load of people and probably many flights after that. She is making a difference in her own way... making the ho-hum of the safety announcements something else.

The say that WestJet employees are owners of the company. This woman took that to heart and created the space for her own wit and delight to shine. What would it take for each of us to create that within our own spaces... wherever that might be??