Me and my family just came back from a cruise. I had never been on one of this magnitute. Let’s get to the point. It was hard to find the “Aikido.” If you’ve ever been to a loud, crowded party and came to a point where it was just too much, that’s where I was at after about an hour or so. There we were…jamming through the ocean in a big can built to be a floating cheesy version of Las Vegas. There was nothing harmonious about the big picture. Thousands of people practicing decadence and debauchery while being served around the clock by over a thousand others from far-away lands, waste like I’ve never encountered before, and noise that makes the serenity of the ocean passing by hard to appreciate. But I did anyway. I think the moment was just after an Asian man completed his very loud and enthusiastic karaoke rendition of “Rub Me Tender” for the entire Lido deck. I couldn’t take it anymore. So I went in…way, way in. I found a less crowded spot on the back of the ship and just watched the ocean pass behind us. The noise started to drop off even though I was still aware of the guy next to me trying not to puke, and the two drunk and pasty cowboys at the bar talking smack about Obama. If I could hold this, the next day on our way to Puerto Vallarta would be much less stressful. I walked back to see my family at the pool and then started to notice the “Aikido.” There were my seven-year-old boys demonstrating the principle of non-resistance as they bulleted down a big curly water slide. It wasn’t much, but it made me smile. And then I started to notice the acts of kindness among the unsustainable organized chaos of life on the ship. People helping those who have obviously been on way to many cruises to get to the buffet line, people holding elevators for each other, and people recognizing the efforts of all the workers on the ship with their smiles and tips. Like I said, it wasn’t much, but under the circumstances it was something. And it made a very strange experience much more enjoyable.