Seven Seconds for a Better World

A tribute to a great lady

My wonderful mother-in-law inspired this piece (written in 2006) with her kind ways. She taught me a lot.

She loved people and a good time!

Seven Seconds

Every time my mother-in-law washed her hands in a public restroom, she took a paper towel and wiped around the sink. “You know,” she said, “if everyone took a few minutes to do this, public restrooms would be a lot nicer.”  

What if we all wiped around the sink? Not only would the bathroom be cleaner, but the worker who cleaned there might have more incentive to keep the rest of the room sparkling. Maybe folks wouldn’t drop paper towels on the floor.  

My mother-in-law was right. If everyone took the time to do small helpful things, the world would be a nicer place. There are so many easy little things that we can do to help if we would only take a few minutes in our hurried lives to do them.

Wouldn’t it be easier to maneuver around parking lots if everyone returned the shopping carts to the ‘Cart Park’ or better yet, pushed them right into the store? The strapping teens who manhandle those endless trains of carts back to the store could instead help senior citizens load their groceries into their cars.  

How about holding the doors for shoppers?  I recently carried four hot cups of coffee through a series of shop doors. A nice young fellow carrying his own load of treats held the door for me, then I held the door for him, then he held the door for me again.  “Just like a relay,” we joked.  

Have you ever wished a stranger good morning? Being well trained as a cheerful greeter at school, I do it automatically. Even in New York City, that citadel of rush and rude, I usually get a pleasant reply. Perhaps that person passes along my greeting to others.

There are so many ways to be helpful. Let someone pull into your lane in a traffic jam.  Put a lid back on a trash can. Help someone unload his grocery cart onto the conveyer (after asking permission, of course). Pick up litter on your evening walk. Hand someone an item from a high shelf. Read the tiny print for an elderly friend.

A few minutes used in helping others is time well spent. 

TV talk show host Oprah Winfrey once interviewed an embittered couple struggling to save a dying marriage. The wife complained about the husband’s careless ways. He showed no consideration for her.  He wouldn’t even hang up his towels after his shower. He countered that it took too long.  He didn’t have the time.  

Oprah considered his protest during a break. She timed herself hanging up her bath towels. It took seven seconds. In the next segment, she cautioned the husband that his marriage could never survive if he was not willing to spend seven seconds on making his wife happy.

We all have seven seconds to help someone. That’s about all it takes to tie a little kid’s shoes, wipe away his tears or hug him tight. That’s about all it takes to sweep your elderly neighbor’s steps, carry in her trash cans or pick her newspaper up off of the street. 

That’s about all it takes to straighten up the stacks of paper in the copier room, throw away the coffee cups littering the break room, or share a smile with a colleague.

So the next time you are in a public restroom, look around for a charming older lady wiping the sink. Then look into the mirror. Do you see an extremely good-looking person helping her out? That might be you. Thanks!