Life is so subtle sometimes that you barely notice yourself walking through the doors you once prayed would open.
I’ve always moved through life wanting to make a difference, as captured in my purpose statement of MakingPotentialPossible. Of course, on many occasions doors have remained closed, frustrating me in realising my intentions. More and more though, and sometimes, yes, subtly, doors do now open for me, and on such occasions, I do seek to pause, catch myself, and give thanks for the opportunity to make my contribution. I do have to take that pause though, as such moments could otherwise pass me by. The words in the image above capture that feeling beautifully:
Life is so subtle sometimes that you barely notice yourself walking through the doors you once prayed would open.
I saw this image on an Instagram account dedicated to kind souls working for Tfl in the London transport system, people who take time to share messages on the boards outside ticket barriers. Those barriers have a formal purpose of giving notification to people using that station of things like transport disruptions, but when there are no such notices to make, they often take the time to share wonderful messages to help busy people get through their day.
As a note on leadership and culture of an organisation, as the London underground has become more and more automated in past years, while some jobs have been cut, many have been carefully rethought to provide greater levels of customer service and care (whilst at the same time, and often subtly), having eyes and ears in the right place for passenger safety and security. TfL staff are, then, much like flight attendants, who say in their pre-flight briefings “Our primary purpose is your safety”. Both Tfl staff and flight attendants, there for our safety and security, are people that we notice most for their caring service to us during our journey.
Tfl staff are, therefore, both encouraged and trained to be observant, kind, helpful, and thoughtful to passengers at all times, something I see evidence of in actions small and large on nearly every journey I take in London.
One such example is the people who write these signs.
Have a wonderful Sunday.