Sometimes a change of scenery yields great things — like a renewed faith in fellow human beings. I experienced this several days ago, flying south from Boston to Nashville to visit my grown son.

Airports are often places of chaos and frustration. Luggage limits, canceled flights, long walks to the gate, endless security lines (complete with the occasional pat-down) — all of this adds fuel to the traveler’s frustrations. Then just try finding an outlet to charge your cellphone — and you find yourself wondering, “Why didn’t I just drive?”

“You’re a firefighter, right? Let me get you a beer. My pleasure,” one passenger said to another.

But a funny thing happens when you surround yourself with strangers who have a common goal — leaving “here” to go “there.” Like the church confessional or the friendly out-of-town bartender, unfamiliarity can breed a unique closeness.

Sitting at an airport lounge reading a book and enjoying a sandwich and a glass of wine, I heard the bartender tell two customers behind me that the credit card machine had gone down, so she could take cash only. One customer said that was fine, he had cash, while the other said she would have to wait; she had only a credit card.

The cash customer looked at the woman, who was dressed in uniform, and said to her, “You’re a firefighter, right? Let me get you a beer. My pleasure.”

The two ended up talking — turns out they were from the same general area. Eventually they went to grab a table together.

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It warms the heart. We all tend to buy into the 24-hour news cycle that we’re hit with every day, and we believe we really are engaged in constant conflict and strife. But sitting at my gate in a busy concourse at an airport, I looked around to see passengers laughing, listening, sharing snacks as they waited to board.

Contrary to the popular theme of tuning out fellow passengers on an airplane — think all the sitcoms where one passenger pops in earbuds to avoid another — strangers on a plane can be good for your mental health.

The Journal of Experimental Psychology published a study in 2014 that found many people incorrectly assume isolation leads to more happiness than does talking to a stranger. But when passengers on trains and buses were asked to talk to strangers for the study — their conversations made them happier.

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The study also found that most people incorrectly assumed talking to a stranger would reduce their productivity. Not true! Some participants said they became more productive when they engaged in social interaction. The study revealed it didn’t matter who started the conversation first — both participants in the conversation gained equal benefit.

As I waited to squeeze into my middle seat on the airplane, the young woman on the aisle immediately offered to take the middle seat, if that would make it easier for me. The plane was packed, and a line of travelers waited behind me.

Related: Why We Should Be Friendlier to Strangers

I was grateful and accepted — and we began chatting. Her mother had just had open-heart surgery, so she’d left her husband and small kids at home, and was flying across the country to be at her mom’s bedside.

“I had surgery last year and she dropped everything to be with me,” she explained, smiling. “It’s the least I can do — you should be there for your mom, always.”

So drop the earbuds, book, or whatever barrier you’ve built up against interacting with strangers — and look around! Whether you’re at an airport, a store, a mall, or your own neighborhood, it’ll do you good. There is kindness and generosity going on between both friends and strangers.

And all around the world, people are feeling the way I felt when I finally saw my son’s face, as he pulled up to the baggage terminal in his truck: I would have traveled around the globe to see your smile.