Ok, I am not going to throw out a lot of weak statements to you, or try and convince you of my earnest efforts at doing better. But what I am going to do is tell you a short story on how my day went after being powered by my mantra – I can do better!
I awoke like any other morning, except this morning as I walked to the curb to retrieve the newspaper, I uttered, “I will do better today.” Nothing miraculous happened, I did not hear angels singing their ‘oohs and aahs’, I did not see a rainbow magically appear in the sky, nor did I feel the earth move. However, not receiving cosmic acknowledgment does not equate to an unresponsive universe. Remember that!
Next up was the arrival of the Federal Express driver. I thought…I can do better! So, without hesitation, I got up from my desk and walked out the front door down to the street and waited. I heard the driver thrashing about through the boxes and as she emerged from the back of the truck, I was waiting! Did I do better? Yes, I believe I did.
As the afternoon hours began to dwindle, I hurried to the grocery store to pick up the items missing from the night’s menu. Once my cart was complete, I searched for a quick line. I found one and began to unload my items when I looked up and noticed the bagger. Oh gawd, it is the dreaded ‘bread mashing box crushing peach bruising’ villain of a bagger. Ugh! I am hating this line! Thoughts running through my head, ‘should I quick grab my items and change lanes?’ I am in a quandary here. No, I thought, I can do better! I sucked up all my anxiety and kept quiet. This was a huge feat for me because as a former market girl I KNOW how to properly bag groceries. After greeting the checker, and paying for my items, I even had a kind hello for the ‘meat dripping bagger’. I left the store and proceeded to the car to load the bags (incidentally — I was certain I would be standing at the tailgate repacking the bags!) But to my absolute amazement, I had left the store with three perfectly packed bags! Wowzer! Because I had tried to do better — did the bagger try to do better?
Whereas, saving a FedEx driver a few steps on her delivery, and meeting with circumstance in a courteous manner may not sound like much, I look at it this way — Perhaps that driver was a young mother and those steps and time I saved her made it possible for her to arrive at her child’s soccer game timely. Or maybe she received a few accolades to her delivery record with her employer for bringing her load in early. Maybe the bagger at the store, who I have had discussion with prior, noticed me, too, and said to herself ‘I don’t want to disappoint this customer again, I can do better!’ And perhaps her employer noticed her efforts and commended her. You, see…small adjustments and efforts really can bring about change, and that results in a little more kindness in the world!
I think I’m onto something!