On a recent trip home from Phoenix, I arrived at Sky Harbor Airport only to find it mobbed. The airport wasn't filled with refugees from a war. And it wasn't a rock star sighting. (Only the Beatles could command such a crowd. Oops, just gave away my age, didn't I?)  It was simply a really busy day at a really busy airport.

As I neared the check-in kiosks, after a 45 minute wait, an airline representative greeted the guy in front of me. "How are you?" she asked. "Well, not good," he growled. "I've been standing in line for nearly an hour!"

Now, I'll grant you, waiting in a line that may cause you to miss a flight can be frustrating. But I was struck by how angry he was at such a little inconvenience. In the grand scheme of life, how really important was the delay on that particular day? Chances are, not much.

There are people around this world (including right here at home) who don't have enough food for their children. There are others whose days are numbered, as they face down a deadly disease. And there are still others who live in fear of a spouse or a parent, as violence is a part of their lives. Makes an airport delay not such a big deal, doesn't it.

This story has two lessons. One, it reflects a lesson in my little book, It's Just Hair. And it is JUST HAIR. When your hair doesn't turn out the way you want it to on any given day, so what? If you're delayed at the airport, and have to catch the next flight, so what? If the clerk at the grocery store spends a little more time chatting with an elderly customer, so what?

Bottom line, be courageous. Smile. Realize what a waste of time it is to fret about things over which you have no control.

Lesson two is this: the next time you feel your temperature rising over life's little conveniences, go home and put a dollar in a jar. When you reach $100 (you're only human - you WILL reach $100), donate that money to a cause that courageously faces down some of the world's ills like the ones I just mentioned. Doing good will make you start looking forward to delays!

Live courageously,