Just Be Nice!

"What the world needs now/ Is love, sweet love/ It's the only thing that there's just too little of/ What the world needs now/ Is love, sweet love/ No, not just for some but for everyone." ~ Jackie DeShannon, "What the World Needs Now"

I walk through the Mall at Steamtown at least several times a day because of my job duties and the fact that it is the best bargain for parking in downtown Scranton. I enjoy breezing through the doors that lead out to the intersection of Lackawanna and Penn avenues and, oftentimes, stop for a coffee before I walk to my office.

The other day, I was walking from my office to my car on my way home for lunch. There was a little girl-- she couldn't have been more than five years old-- standing outside of the hair salon saying "hello" to passersby. No one was replying to her.

When I got up to her, I said "Well hello, sweetie! Aren't you looking beautiful today!" and gave her a megawatt smile. Her eyes lit up and she screamed for her grandmother.

What happened next still brightens my day...

"Grandma! Grandma! That nice lady told me I was booti-ful! Grandma! She's nice!"

I smiled back and said, "Oh honey, YOU'RE nice! You have a wonderful day!!"

She looked at me as I walked away, smiling and waving. I felt like I made her day and I know she made mine.

It is a sad commentary on our society when we can't even stop and say hello to an innocent little girl. It just took two seconds for that simple hello to make her feel like somebody. I wanted to give her a hug but wasn't sure of how her grandmother would react... she didn't speak to either one of us during the exchange.

A simple "hello" or a compliment can make someone's day. It doesn't cost anything but the rewards are amazing. Think about it-- you're nice to someone, so that inspires them to be nice to someone else, then that person is nice to another person and, all of a sudden, you have created a chain reaction of niceness.

Not bad for an action that takes seconds, right?

My challenge for everyone is to do something nice for a stranger. Smile at them. Look them in the eye when you do it. Say "hello". Pay them a compliment. Just be nice. Be friendly. Be loving.

Be the change you wish to see in the world... and start today by just being... nice.