Purpose & Entitlement

I worked at the airport this morning and had a couple thoughts:

• work is hard when there is no apparent "purpose"
• people who feel "entitled" to something can be irritating

I was filling in for Edna and had to work "kiosk" at the ticket counter 7a-noon. I did not enjoy standing around and waiting to direct people to a line that seemed to be obvious. My feet hurt from standing on a hot roof the past couple of days and my inner thighs were raw...didn't feel like standing/walking/counting minutes till my shift was up. I was THEN told by the supervisor at the counter that I should be telling those in line to be sure to weigh their bag so they knew if it were more than 50#; that they needed a name tag on each bag; and they should have their passport open and ready for the counter to make it go quicker. I then had PURPOSE and was able to address real goals and feel useful. PURPOSE is good! I wonder if the book "purpose driven life" deals with this concept like I'm thinking of it?

Secondly, I noticed a couple with an older woman and they were marching angrily from an area, muttering "idiots" as they walked away. I wondered why they were upset, but then heard her tell someone "we have a handicapped woman with us and you don't have anywhere for her to move to the front of the line?" The employee tried to allow them to use 1st class, but they huffed away and went elsewere to complain. I looked at the couple and older woman and was unable to tell she was "handicapped". They seemed to feel ENTITLED to special treatment and it made their attitude hard to deal with and unpleasant at best. I then went to 1st class in domestic to take a few people there (no line) and help ease the dozens that were going to miss their international flight. A "preferred customer" (aka snobby bitch) got into the 1st class line and whined "are they all here for 1st class?" the supervisor pleasantly told her they were...she sighed with indignance and went to stand behind them (something she obviously was NOT used to doing). ENTITLEMENT! This is not only irritating, but also eye-opening since I TOO tend to feel "entitled". I grew up knowing that if you "demand" something just right or hard enough something will get done. (new meal, free tickets, payment for damages, apologies, thanks, etc). There always seems to be a feeling of hurt that goes deep when I press for "entitlements", but those feelings are often just suppressed and justified that the benefits of "getting my own way" will offset the uneasy gut feelings. This is a VERY selfish way to live and one that I don't want to continue in. I think my work at the airport with "handicapped" and "first class passengers" will help keep these ideas fresh...good reminders.