Sep
The Contagiousness of Nice
I’ll admit, I’m a bit old fashioned. I think television shows have pushed it with language, I think the magazine headlines that young ones see in the checkout stand at the grocery store are distasteful at best, and I think kids are dressing way too old (old, not necessarily being synonymous with taste in this sentence).
So what’s up? Why have things changed so much?
My guess is respect, or the lack thereof. We no longer seem to care how our actions affect the person standing next to us. And it’s sad.
Friend and fellow author, Judy Merrill Larsen (if you’ve not read her book, ALL THE NUMBERS, you should) is fighting back, or at least trying to make people think…
About what it means to be “nice.”
That’s right, “nice” (if you’d like to read more, check out her blog here). And, if you think about it, being “nice” is–or should be–rather simple thanks to one easy-to-remember rule… Treat others the way you want them to treat you.
So here’s what I’m looking for this week…some examples of “niceness” that you’ve witnessed while out and about. Maybe it’s something you, yourself, have done. Maybe it’s something you’ve seen someone else do. It doesn’t matter, just so long as it’s “nice.” And maybe, if we share some of these acts with one another, they’ll inspire us to pick up the torch and take back our world.
For my part, I’ll share two: I was at the beach this past weekend. A gentleman literally keeled over as he was stepping out of the water (an apparent heart attack). Of course there were the gawkers (the folks who offer nothing to the situation except to serve as obstacles for the emergency personnel to maneuver around once they get there) but there was also someone else…a man in blue and white swim trunks who left the comfort of his beach blanket to administer CPR…a selfless act that literally saved this man’s life.
I don’t think I’ll ever forget that moment. Ever.
And then I’ll share a smaller any-person-can-do-something-like-this one. I was at Panera writing this past week (Judy’s blog fresh on my mind). There was a woman sitting next to me with two very small children. One, who was in the very early stages of being potty trained, needed to use the bathroom. I had no idea what the mom was going to do with the baby while trying to help the 2-year-old. So I pushed aside my computer and played with the baby while she took the older one to the bathroom. It was simple. It took maybe 5 minutes of my writing time. But the relief on the mom’s face made it worth it a million times over.
It’s about being nice. And treating others the way you’d want them to treat you.
So share some stories, will you? Or, even better, go out and DO something nice this week and come back and tell us what you did.
~Elizabeth
September 21st, 2009 at 9:42 am
Well, you pretty much epitomize “nice”! Thanks for helping to spread the word, and also for sharing two wonderful stories.
September 21st, 2009 at 11:15 am
I came to know one of my best friends, with whose family I now share Thanksgiving, in just such a spontaneously helpful way. In the allergist’s waiting room, she had just managed to settle her son into beginning his homework when she was called to get her shot. Knowing she’d have to start all over regaining his focus, I offered to sit in for her and keep the momentum. Josiah, like many children, paid better attention with a new person, and we all became friends. In fact, they helped me record the new storytelling CD I’m working on, their voices adding to my telling of “The Wide-Mouth Frog.” Doing a kindness pays dividends in both directions.
September 21st, 2009 at 5:08 pm
I agree withyou. I think part of it is to do with the FCC. When I was a radio disc jockey, I would have been fired for things they say on the radio today. I saw a noteabe change in children (while teaching) when the Roseanne Barr show came on the air.
I had something nice happen to me last July. A huge storm had just passed through and we had no electricity. I figured there was nothing to worry about. Well, at 6:30 I took Macy out to go potty. As soon as I opened the door I noticed eome peole from our neighborhood in my driveway. As I rounded the corner on the garage, two men from subdivision zoomed into the house. They ran to the basement with huge extension cords. They were worried about my sump pump. They hooked me up to a generator and off they went to help someone else. I have wonderful neighbors!
I had the pleasure of helping a young man at the rec center. He was standing at the counter, explaining that he didn’t have enough money to play ping pong (it’s 50 cents) and to have a soda. After seeing that he was getting upset, I gave him the money he needed. It was a tiny I thing I did but it gave me a wonderful feeling.
Being nice and respectful to everyone is so important and it all starts with a small act of kindness.
September 22nd, 2009 at 11:34 am
I was in the store yesterday and the woman in front of me didn’t have enough money to pay for her groceries. I watch her decide which item she should leave agonizing over what she could do with out. I told the cashier to pack up her groceries and I’ll pay the balance.
September 22nd, 2009 at 11:43 am
Wow, I’m loving these!!!
Mary, I was struck by what you said about kindness paying dividends. How something you did to be helpful and nice ballooned into a real friendship.
And Sharon, I think that what you did for that boy in the rec center will stick in his head somewhere.
Dru, your story gave me chills. What a truly nice thing to do! And like I said with Sharon, maybe that kindness will stick in the heart of the person you shared it with…and maybe one day she’ll be in a position to pay it forward.
Keep ‘em coming, everyone!