A Penny For Your Thoughts

Do kindness and good will still exist? In a recent article in The Washington Post, a columnist related her remorse at her treatment of an elderly gentleman who simply asked her where to find crackers to go with a nice cheese at the grocery store. The columnist regretted that she had been so short-tempered with him, in fact trying to ignore him at first. She expressed concern that our busy lives may make us less focused on our neighbors and unwilling to take that extra minute to be kind or gracious or just friendly – at the grocery store, on Metro, with tourists asking directions.

The column made me think about all the little things we can do to be kind. Some are things our mothers and fathers taught us when youngsters, and which we may have forgotten, like holding the door for someone, and saying “thank you” when someone holds the door for us. Simple things like stepping back from entering the Metro car or an elevator until exiting passengers have gotten off. Or when driving, allowing space for the car in the next lane to merge into yours. Whatever happened to alternate merge? Why is it so important to be there first and fastest?

We all have moments when our better nature is overtaken by another side of our personality. The columnist discovered that at the very moment she responded harshly to the old man’s query. By then, however, it was too late. The damage had been done, and the guilt set in. In retrospect, she has decided to atone for her mistake by choosing to be kind, and challenged others to do the same.

I believe that kindness and good will do still exist, but we have to remind ourselves every so often that kindness needs to be practiced and good will needs to be shared. So the next time you’re in a hurry, remember that all the car horn does is create noise pollution and scare other drivers, that putting the grocery cart into the parking corral removes it from creating congestion in the parking lot, and that opening or holding a door for someone is something we all can do for each other. By the way, the two simplest words in the English language are “thank you.” Why not see if it works for you?

More than 100 American jurisdictions have participated in a “One Book, One City” initiative begun by a Seattle librarian in 1998. This summer, the Fairfax County Public Library asks residents to read Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” one of the best-loved classics of all time. The novel revolves around how a community deals with people who are “different,” a very timely topic for Fairfax residents since one in five residents in the Washington area was born outside the United States. Library Director Edwin S. Clay III notes that “as our community learns to value people we once considered “different,” we can work together for the benefit of all.” For more details on the All Fairfax Reads program, go to www.fairfaxcounty.gov/library.