The janitor who changed my view on beauty

March 3rd, 2025

read time 3.5 minutes

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unexpected harmonies

A focus of this newsletter is how to craft beautiful spaces and deliver exceptional hospitality. Bringing beauty into the world is our shared mission.

But today, I want to show how beauty finds us sometimes where we least expect it, and what this might teach us about creating it ourselves.

I’m in Mexico right now, spending a few days helping friends from our church.

Yesterday, I drove two hours to the Dallas-Fort Worth airport to fly down here. Now, the DFW airport is one of my least favorite places on earth—a sprawling monument to utilitarian ugliness.

Yet as I hurried down the gray, sickly terminal, I heard singing. Human voices blending in harmony, here of all places. A group had gathered against the wall, belting out a heartfelt birthday chorus for their friend.

I cracked a smile as I passed, and my heart felt a tad warmer.

dignity in details

Minutes later at my gate, I ducked into the restroom—usually the worst part of this worst place. As I washed my hands, the janitor caught my eye with a genuine smile. He courteously bowed and gestured to the gleaming, spotless paper towel dispenser.

I dried my hands and smiled back. As I turned to leave, he stepped forward, towel in hand, to continue meticulously polishing the dispenser.

The man genuinely cared about and took pride in his work. And of all the thousands of hurried, impatient, worn-out traveler rushing through his little world each day, he took the time to smile at me—a stranger.

"The moment you care for anything deeply, the world opens up with its treasures."  —C.S. Lewis

Later, as I settled into my cramped airplane seat, I wasn’t thinking about the terminal or the crowds or the stale air.

I was thinking about that man’s smile and the birthday singers’ harmony.

la cocina

Hours later, thousands of miles away, I found myself navigating the dark, unwelcoming streets of a third-world city. Finally, we arrived at a grungy parking lot, smelly trash littered everywhere. I ushered my wife and baby bundle down the dimly lit sidewalk.

Before I could open the door, the warm mariachi music reached us.

We stepped inside a 120-year-old log cabin, and everything changed. The candlelit restaurant pulsed with life and authenticity. The owner greeted us like long-awaited friends, and we were ushered to a table beside the musicians.

Three veteran mariachi musicians played and sang with such soul and skill. We were in awe. The grace and attentive kindness of each waiter soothed our tired spirits. We ate delicious Mexican fare, laughed and talked—surrounded by beauty which engaged every sense.

This little enclave was purely delightful—rich and unforgettable. Yet all around it was ugliness, dirtiness, and sadness.

People will forget what you said, but they'll never forget how you made them feel. A genuine smile communicates welcome like nothing else.

Small acts of care and kindness can transform even the most soulless spaces. The more mundane the surroundings, the more powerful the opportunity to give and receive these gifts.

Beauty finds a way. It refuses to be drowned out by fluorescent glare, drabness, or squalor—if only we pause long enough to notice.

be “that kind” of person

The constant in all three examples from yesterday is, of course, the people.

If you are looking to hire for hospitality, look beyond resumes and references. Look for people who will naturally run after a stranger to return a dropped scarf, or welcome new neighbors with cookies, or help carry heavy strollers up subway stairs.

These kind of people don’t do it for recognition. They do it because bestowing grace upon others makes their own day better.

I want to be that kind of person.

And to continually attune myself to see moments of beauty in the midst of mundane. Not just to recognize them, but to create them.

So, here's to making the world more beautiful—one act of kindness, care, and genuine smile at a time.

Because in the end, even the most exquisite spaces we create are just stages for what really matters: those fleeting, profound moments when people truly connect and beauty shows up in unexpected ways.

—Isaac

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