When we jump to conclusions, 

we invariably land in the wrong place. 

Having taken my seat on the airplane, I noticed the interaction between the two people seated in front of me. Something they said made me smile. A smile that, unbeknownst to me, was noticed by the woman coming down the aisle.

“That’s right, laugh at me!” The voice was plainly upset.

Whoa, I said to myself. Turning immediately to the direction of the reprimand, I saw a woman struggling with her carry-on bag and a seriously cumbersome personal item. I can only imagine that she was frustrated with—and embarrassed by—having to wrestle with her belongings in full view of those already seated.

My thoughts had been on the couple in front of me, but my smile was perceived as happening in regards to something very different. And so, a coincidental smile had left a harried fellow passenger steaming. In her awkward position along the narrow aisle, she quickly concluded that I was laughing at her. Which, sadly, only increased her misery.