Late for planes and trains but forever an optimist | The Express Tribune

Everyone will know someone who puts off airport runs until the last minute, secure in the belief that the plane will never leave without them - if, indeed, they are not that last-minute person in the first place. And in the world of A-listers, that person is Mahira Khan.

Taking to Instagram, the Legend of Maula Jatt star posted a picture of her sun-kissed face radiating natural makeup, framed by her loose locks falling gently to her shoulders. Alongside, Mahira spun out a relatable anecdote of a family lunch where her loved ones poked gentle fun at her - and her aunt - for their whimsical sense of time.

"So I took the train to go see my family yesterday," captioned Mahira, "and while us Khans ate lunch, everyone was discussing how some people just are so bad with timing when it comes to airports and stations (me and my Khala)."

Putting up a tongue-in-cheek of her casual relationship with punctuality, Mahira added, "I actually genuinely think I will make it. Like the plane or train just doesn't have the heart to leave without me."

Almost halting in her tracks, Mahira appeared to realise more or less immediately that planes and trains are less generous with their passengers than she had boasted about just moments prior. "I heard myself and thought, that's so stupid! Of course, I've missed a flight! Of course, I've missed a stop!"

This troubling realisation, however, did not linger for long. Ever the optimist, Mahira found a way to turn her wayward travel habits into a thing of beauty involving hope and goodness.

"I also thought it's an innate feeling of being hopeful - that is what people like us have," she wrote. "Believing that it will be good no matter what. Believing there is light at the end of the tunnel and a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow."

Wrapping up her thread of determined optimism, Mahira drummed in her message of active gratitude. "I'm pretty sure… that being hopeful as a person is the biggest blessing from God. And you really understand that… when at times you're not… (we've all been there) when you can't see the light. So when you can, be grateful."

There is a lesson in there for everyone from Mahira. Even the darkest of times can spark a flame of hope - if only we look for it.