During my LP Journey, one of the things that I learned that still stuck to me was to leave things or situations in a condition the same as when you found it, if not better. Simple example is when you use a toilet....just make sure to flush.... or clean up your table after you eat.
What I remembered in my times in the States was that after we ate in McDonald or Burger Kings, most people would clean up their own table after meal and throw their trash in the bin provided in the restaurant. This practice is especially useful in a situation where the restaurant are packed with people. Cleaning the place after you use it simply allows for other patronage to enjoy their meal without being disgusted. How would you feel if you have to clean up after other people when having to wait for the waiter to clean the table for you are just wasting your time or even worst when there is no available waiter to clean the table.
This situation actually happened to me last weekend. We were on our way to PD ( Which was an amazing trip & will be written in another blog).... & we decided to have lunch in the Seremban R&R. As usual, the area was packed with people having lunch. The queue to buy lunch was long and tiresome, but nothing compare to having to wait for a clear table. We got our food and have to walk around for a few minutes to find an empty table. We finally saw a middle aged couple finishing their meal... so we just kind of hovered around the table. As soon as they finished, they left without even having a second glance on how the table looks like. It was a mess. They had 3 dirty plates of whatever left of their food and the tables had water drops everywhere. Thank God for my ever-ready wipes. I can't eat on a dirty tables... so it took me a few minutes to clean up. Ted looked at me with an adoring eyes, and looked very happy that I made an effort. Felt better after that & we finally get to enjoy our lunch. When we finished, I cleaned up the table again, as I don't want the next people using that table to have to clean up after me. It turned out there was another couple passing by and saw us leaving. She actually smiled and thank me for cleaning the table...she looked gratefully at me and said it was very nice of me to do so and how she herself always carried those wipes. I hoped she will use them to clean the table after her meal. It will made me feel that somehow I had made a difference and her imaginary action of cleaning up had been a pay forward of what I had done. I actually felt good.... it doesn't take any effort to clean after yourself and in fact, you made other people happy at the same time.
On our way out, a thought came over me. What if everybody that use a public eating place decided to clean up after themselves, wouldn't this world be a cleaner place. It does not take a lot of effort. In fact, if you practice it often enough, it could become a habit. I do try to teach this to my nieces and nephews. Whenever we go to McD, I always make sure that we left the table cleaned. I hope this habits will take on them.... as I hope this habit will take on anybody reading this. If we leave things better of, this world would definitely be a better place. Don't you think so?
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