Marta was a hard-working single
mother. When her minister sermonized about "living a life that
matters," she worried that working to raise her kids and going
to church wasn’t enough. So on the bus to work she made a list
of other jobs she could do and volunteer work she could try.
Sylvia, an elderly woman, saw the
worry on Marta’s face and asked what was wrong. Marta explained
her problem. Sylvia said, "Oh my, did your minister say you
weren’t doing enough?"
"No," Marta said. "But I don’t know how to live ‘a life that
matters’."
"You don’t have to change jobs or
do more volunteer work," Sylvia consoled her. "It’s enough that
you’re
a good mother. But if you want to do more, think about what you
can do while doing what you already do.
It’s not about what you do, but how you do it."
"You don’t understand," Marta
said. "I sell hamburgers. How do I make that significant?"
"How many people do you deal with every day?" Sylvia asked.
"Two to three hundred."
"Well, what if you set out to cheer, encourage, teach, or
inspire as many of those people as you could? A compliment, a
bit of advice, a cheerful hello, or a warm smile can start a
chain reaction that lights up lives
like an endless string of Christmas bulbs."
"But that’s just being nice," Marta protested.
"Right," said Sylvia. "Niceness can change lives."
Marta looked at the old woman.
"What do you do?"
"I was a housekeeper until I retired," Sylvia said. "Now I just
ride the bus talking to people."
This is Michael Josephson
reminding you that character counts.
