The Middle Way At DXB

I travel quite a bit and when I do I try to be kind and compassionate to my other travelers, which often equates to allowing people go in front of me in line, mostly women, the elderly, children, etc... As I was transiting Dubai International Airport (DXB) this morning I realized that if I continued to be compassionate and accommodating that I would get completely run-over and never make my flight. There comes a point where you have to be assertive and hold your ground against the rising tide of burka-clad women that are deftly maneuvering to get in front of you, or the lady pushing the empty stroller that expects you to yield to her, never asking or acknowledging.

I have a hard time with finding the correct balance between compassion and practicality, and I suspect many other people do as well. There comes a point where you need to be a little selfish, or you'll never get to where you're trying to go, especially while traveling within the Arab culture. I feel badly about it, but I think that in this instance this is the Buddhist precept of the Middle Way, or in other words not extremely compassionate nor selfish. In short, the Middle Way differs depending on the airport that you're in :)