They were hard at work building an elaborate sandcastle by the water’s edge, with gates and towers and moats and internal passages.

Just when they had nearly finished their project, a big wave came along and knocked it down, reducing it to a heap of wet sand.

I expected the children to burst into tears, devastated by what had happened to all their hard work

But they surprised me.

Instead, they ran up the shore away from the water, laughing and holding hands, and sat down to build another castle.

I realized that they had taught me an important lesson.

All the things in our lives, all the complicated structures we spend so much time and energy creating, are built on sand

Only our relationships to other people endure.

Sooner or later, the wave will come along and knock down what we have worked so hard to build up

When that happens, only the person who has somebody’s hand to hold will be able to laugh.

The flight attendant answered warmly, when the woman abruptly said, “Please find me another seat immediately.” The flight attendant responded, “I’m sorry Ma’am, but the economy cabin is fully booked.”

The rich woman replied, “But I’m not going to travel beside a worthless bum. Do something.”
While the elderly man stared in disbelief, the flight attendant responded, “I’ll talk to the Captain about this.”

The flight attendant went to the Captain and asked, “Captain, a woman feels uncomfortable sitting beside a poor elderly man. What should we do?”

Surprisingly, the Captain’s face changed. He looked amused and said, “This woman is interesting. I’ve never encountered an issue like this before. I have a plan. Listen..”

And the Captain relayed to the flight attendant what he wanted to do. The flight attendant was stunned at his plan. She was amazed.

A few minutes later, the flight attendant returned. “The Captain said we could use an open seat in First Class. He also wants to apologize for traveling with such a terrible person.”

As the woman rose out of her seat, the flight attendant reached out her arm towards the poor elderly man. “Sir, will you please follow me?” To which the plane applauded.

Never look down on other people. We are all equal in God’s sight. Regardless of what you have achieved in life, stay humble. Keep your feet on the ground. The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot.