Airports trigger my empathetic response.
I'm hanging about watching people as a favorite pastime as I wait in the arrivals hall for a business colleague.
I see an old couple coming unsteadily through the sliding door with their bags. Cries of delight come from their family and there is a marvelous crush of little and big bodies as each fights to get THE hug.
As a woman who knows, my tears flow when I see the the depth of the hug between what is obviously mother and daughter.....time stands still for them as they nourish their inner souls, starved for who knows how long, the balm of touch.

I don't even know them but my empathy 'button' has been firmly pushed.

I sniff and snort and hope my nose isn't red when I greet Dave from the Durban branch.
I pray a blessing over the family that their time together is wonderful and my heart lurches when I imagine their goodbyes.