An Observation

Awhile ago, I was sitting and waiting for Kerry to bring our food to our table at the Costco eatery.  

Don't judge me for eating at Costco. 

Back to the story...I tend to people watch.  It's probably a bad habit because it normally brings me to another bad habit of mine....judging people.  But I'm still going to tell the story because it made an impact on me that was bigger than merely a judgment.

There was this woman who proceeded to clear off two tables by taking all of the trash and gross stuff off of it and placing it on the table next to hers.  There was a trash can ten feet away!  She sat and waited for her family to join her nice clean table.  A man walked up to the table full of trash and struggled to get settled because of the trash that she had dumped all over.  I was shocked when she stood up, rushed over to the man and exclaimed, "I can't believe some people leave so much trash when they're done."  She proceeded to pick up all the trash and throw it away from him in the trash can....the way she could have done the first time around. 

Now, the man left this situation thinking that she was a great person for stepping up and helping her out.  So really, no harm done.  But from my perspective, it made me realize something about human nature.  It's so easy to do the wrong thing when no one is watching...and so tempting to do the right thing when someone is watching.

I shouldn't be shocked at that woman's behavior because I need to be better at that.  Not because I want more people to see me doing the right thing.  Because I want to know that I do the right thing no matter who is watching.  It's tough.

Try it.