This is becoming something of a mantra for me – in this world of ours where it seems that we become more-and-more buried in our own needs and thoughtful consideration for others becomes something that we do not think very much about, if we take the time and effort to look around us, we will notice that our lives are not better as a result.  As human beings, we are not islands, we do not and cannot exist without others, we need other people in order for us to live, whether it’s the folks who grow the food that we eat, or bring it to the stores where we shop, and so on.

And, surely, if the life experience and level of happiness of these folks improved, wouldn’t our own be better?  It would be very beneficial for us if we better-understood that our own causes are improved when that of others improved, too.  You know – the ripple-effect.

And doing good doesn’t require a monumental effort – it’s the little things that add up to making the big picture a work of art. You know – a smile usually generates the same in those who witness it.  And it’s stuff like this that tells me that it is so important to spend some of our time thinking about these little things and getting into the habit of thinking ‘how can I improve the next person’s experience?’ as we go about our daily lives.  I don’t mean by becoming the next Mother Theresa (although to have that level of good and goodwill within us wouldn’t hurt a bit), but by thinking about and doing the little things that, in reality, are so easy to do (if we can bring ourselves to think about it) that will make the next person’s life just that tiny bit better and, with lots of tiny bits, the big picture (our lives as a whole) is improved.

One of the things that so many humans find just about the most difficult thing to do, is to put ourselves in the shoes of another.  We do things without thinking much about what our actions, or lack thereof, will mean to the next person.  I’ll let you think about examples, and there are tons of them, of instances where we would like to find a place, the kitchen, the bathroom, in a good, clean state for us to use but we sometimes then do not leave it in the state in which we would like to find it after someone else has used it.

So, if we’re working to make good habits become the norm in our lives, things we do as a matter-of-course, these become easier-and-easier for us to do and the world is just that little bit better off and the big picture begins to look like a masterpiece.

Zed