Take a look at all of these items. They are all roughly 6 inches long. For me, the easiest to picture is roughly the length of a pen. Not very big at all. This can be the difference between being a decent human being or making the world that much more difficult for others. Can the length of a pen really make that much of a difference? It can and I would love to share with you how this became evident to me. Forget ‘going the extra mile’. For most of us, all it would take would be 6 inches.
I was out having a wonderful rare afternoon off with my beautiful lady. She wanted to go shopping to look for a few things. The store we went to had the shopping carts just inside the entrance. I had not noticed them on the way in as we took ours from in the parking lot, saving the person bringing them in at least one cart. After we spent some time shopping, I was waiting by the carts while she checked out. What I noticed shocked me. The carts were in the middle of the entrance making it difficult for customers to enter the store. It was not that there were too many. It was because people had pushed them into the general area, but did not push them into each other. The amount each cart would have to have been moved? You guessed it, 6 inches. I strolled over and pushed them all together. It took me less than 2 minutes. The space was clear and people could safely enter the store.
As we left the store, the 6 inch rule held true. It is a busy little strip mall. Including many stores that my lady would love to visit. As you can imagine, there are also a good deal of cars there. It was a brisk day and I am sure many people would have loved to park close to the store. Some may even had difficulty walking. If you looked at some of the cars, they were not quite between the lines. Some a mere 6 inches over. The time it would have took for them to correct this would have been less than a minute. Instead they left their car as it was. This means that the spot next to them would not be available to use. Someone would have to walk further in the cold, or if they had trouble walking, struggle a good distance more. Why? Why do people not go the extra 6 inches?
It can’t be to save time. The parking fix would take less than a minute. For me to arrange all of the carts in the store took less than 2 minutes. Sure, a little bit is due to pure laziness. What the main challenge is, however, is the lack of respect for our fellow humans. We are all agitated when we can’t find a parking spot, but see a few that have been lost due to some unenlightened soul parking 6 inches over the line. Maybe we bang our side on a shopping cart left in the middle of the entrance to the store? All of these moments would take us no time at all and only require us to go the ‘extra 6 inches’.
When we think of changing the world and making it a better place for everyone, we often think of grand gestures. Nobody thinks about putting away their shopping cart or making sure their parking job leaves room for the next person. It is not a little extra effort on your part. It is that little extra respect we can show for our fellow humans. 6 inches can change the world. It can be for the better. It can be for the worse. it is up to us to decide.
SECRET 2 AN AMAZING LIFE 