I believe that kindness is one of the most important human characteristics. It
is not that hard to say a simple 'thank you', and yet it can really change the outlook of
someone else's day. My sister once told me, "It takes more muscles to frown than to
smile." I have noticed that just being polite to the people around you can really make
the atmosphere around you more positive. I can think of a lot of examples of when
being polite has made things a little smoother, including one at the doctor's office,
another at the commissary, and another one on the metro train in Paris.
Yesterday, as I was heading to my appointment at the doctor's office, I entered
an elevator to go to the third floor where my doctor's office is located. As I entered the
elevator I pressed the button and waited for the door to close. I was running a few
minutes late and I was a little concerned that I would not make my appointment in
time. I noticed an old man enter the building and slowly make his way to the elevator.
Instead of allowing the elevator door to close on the old man, I held the door open
until the old man was able to board the elevator with me. Even though I was running
late for my appointment I went a little out of my way to help this old man. When he
entered the elevator he grinned and said, "thank you, young man." Even something as
small as holding the door open for the old man had a positive impact on his day.
Last week, I was standing in line at the commissary with my wife, when all of
a sudden some lady in front of me starting complaining to the cashier. Apparently, she
had not been able to find some of the products that she came looking for. In addition,
she yelled at the cashier for the poor selection of products, the long line to check out;
and even yelled at the cashier for the speed at which she was checking her ite
...