The teller motions for me to wait. ‘Please,’ she mouths, her eyes flickering towards the woman on the phone at the money exchange counter. I nod, and step back a bit to give the woman privacy. Our flight to Cabo San Lucas is delayed, and a sense of ease settles over me. I have nowhere else to be.

The woman finishes her call, a tremor in her voice as she thanks the teller. As she turns away, I catch a glimpse of her face, etched with despair. ‘Is she okay?’ I ask, a knot tightening in my stomach. The teller hesitates, then tells me a story…

This woman, who just moments ago stood so close to me, arrived in Canada from India two years ago. Leaving behind her husband and four children, she pursued her Master’s degree in Early Childhood Development. Now, a graduate with a promising career, she’s on her way back to India for a conference. But instead of the joyful reunion she envisioned, she carries the crushing weight of a denied immigration application. She can’t bring her family to Canada, the teller tells me, and she can’t bear to tell her husband, with whom she was speaking, over the phone. It’s a secret she will carry with her until she sees her family the teller tells me with a hushed sadness. I try to imagine the woman’s heartbreak and am sure I am nowhere close to the heaviness she carries.

The contrast is stark. Just yesterday, I was bundled up against the snow, catching ferries from our island home to this bustling airport. Now, the warmth of Mexico beckons, a place of sun-drenched beaches and carefree days. My husband and I are escaping the winter, our hearts light with anticipation. But this woman beside me, she carries a winter in her soul.

I think about her as I wait for our flight. I carry no secrets, no burdens like hers. The injustice of it stings. She worked hard, achieved her goals, and yet her dream of a future with her family in Canada is shattered.

How many others around me, I wonder, are traveling with heavy hearts? Behind the smiles and hurried footsteps, what stories lie hidden?

I return to where my husband waits in the lounge and as I settle into my seat, I can’t shake the image of that woman’s face. I close my eyes and practice a compassion exercise I learned years ago. I picture the man in the seat across from me, his brow furrowed as he reads a book.

Like me, you have known disappointment. Like me, you have experienced loss. Like me, your life has not been all clear skies and sailing. Like me, you are doing your best to live your life with dignity and grace. And like me, you are perfectly human, doing your best on the road of life.

I repeat the words silently, extending the sentiment to the flight attendant with the tired eyes, the young couple laughing iby the windows overlooking the tarmac, and the elderly woman gazing out the window.

We never know the burdens someone is carrying. Let us step lightly through each moment of our day, offering kindness and understanding wherever we go. Perhaps, in doing so, we can help lighten the load, even if just a little, for those whose journeys are a little less carefree than our own.