HIERACHY #2 AT PLAY - Day 1018: 5 Minute Freewrite: Tuesday - Prompt: airport

You couldn't help but notice. We all did at some point. The young man opposite our seating area in the airport a few years ago was sobbing uncontrollably. Not loud, but accompanied by a guttural sound in his voice, while shaking his head.

I glanced at our airline's check-in desk to see if any of the workers noticed that the young man was distraught. Not one of them even looked at him. They were laughing and talking among themselves.

My mind was swirling with several scenarios of the mishaps that could possibly occur if the young man was allowed to board the airplane. In that moment, all I cared about was arriving at my destination and returning home to my family. Nothing else mattered.

After a few minutes, I nudged my husband to take notice, then looked in my carry-on bag for some tissue. As I was doing so, he whispered in my ear that someone had walked over to the young man with a handkerchief.

Then I directed my husband to bring the matter to the attention of the workers. I chided myself for thinking of me when this young man was in obvious distress.

The workers tended to him for about fifteen minutes. He finally stopped crying and was talking in a calm voice. His flight was called, and they helped him to board. He was not on my flight.

^{Image by JESHOOTS-com from Pixabay}

When we finally boarded the plane, I settled in and lost myself in the beautiful sky and clouds. I breathed a sigh of relief. I hadn't realized my heart was racing. I took out my day planner and noted the event.

I then began to think about my psychology class years ago in which my instructor introduced the Hierachy of Needs as suggested by Abraham Maslow. Safety, or self-preservation, is listed as the second tier. It has always been viewed as a basic human need.

In class, we were taught that this level of human needs include safety of your physical body. It also includes your security for yourself and that of your family. The level of needs in Maslow's hierachy chart has been information I always used to assess at the time my actual needs and desires during that period in my life.

As I have done with other situations in my life, I look back on that particular event at the airport and just label it Hierachy #2 at play.