Favorite Things

You know what some of my favorite things are?  When two people are walking down the sidewalk side by side and another couple approaches also walking side by side, I like when someone from each pair goes in front or behind the other, single file, so passing is easy.  I like it when I see people walking through a parking lot, picking up trash and properly disposing of it even though it isn’t their trash.

Know what else?  I like it when you hold a door for someone, and they say thank you or when you let someone in in front of you while driving and they give you a wave of appreciation.  I think I like these things more than ever because they seem to be getting rarer and rarer.  They shouldn’t be rare.  They should be commonplace, common courtesy, common sense, whatever you want to label it.

It sometimes seems human beings have become an entitled bunch.  Can’t get to the front fast enough, can’t wait, can’t understand, can’t talk, can’t empathize.  As the Beatles song goes, “All through the day, I, me, mine. I, me, mine, I, me, mine”.  I realize that doesn’t apply to everyone, but it sure seems more frequent than ever.

That’s why, at Freedom, we emphasize the little things.  A greeting, a smile, a pleasant tone, a commitment to help, to serve and deliver a positive experience even if the face of difficult times.  We can’t change the world, but we can do our part, and by our example, we encourage others to do the same.