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Each of us has the potential to have a positive impact on the people we encounter on a daily basis, whether it be at home or at work, family, friends, acquaintances or strangers. All it takes is a simple act of kindness. One word or deed has the capacity to change the trajectory of someone’s day and life. I don’t believe that my observation is far off that there are more and more people who have become aggressive in their words and deeds. Some demonstrate this when they drive, some in the store, some in public places. It can happen to any of us: we have a bad day. That bad day makes us angry, impatient, in a rush, saying words that we did not intend to say. Sometimes the absence of words can also be equally hurtful. 

William Safire used to write a weekly column for the NY Times Sunday Magazine called “On Language”. In one column he shared the observation that there are people who don’t engage with strangers, offering not one word, not even eye contact. He gave a specific example of someone driving on the highway, in the days when tolls were paid for by cash. Our humanity expects that we should greet the toll receiver with courtesy by wishing that person a “good morning”, and if you received change, say “Thank you. Have a nice day.” He had witnessed over time people who would not even engage in these simple human exchanges and labeled them “infra-humans”. He was clearly suggesting that these simple exchanges are what define our humanity. 

Do we exchange pleasantries with the cashier in the supermarket, the valet parking our car, someone holding the door for us, the security guard, the mail deliverer, and so on? Rabbi Shammai in Pirkei Avot 1:15 said: Greet everyone with a pleasant expression. In a world that seems filled with more incivility, heeding the words of Rabbi Shammai is the necessary restorative to realign our world. During this period of introspection during the month of Elul, perhaps we might consider our general countenance towards people. The use of simple, kind words can make the day of someone we might not know who is going through a very difficult time. While mathematically unlikely, if half of the inhabitants of this planet said one kind word to someone they meet, the potential exists for a brighter day on this planet. All of us would agree that the planet is overdue for a good day. 

Rosh Hashanah celebrates the birthday of the world, and we express our gratitude to God for its creation. What might be the appropriate gift to present to the world, or for that matter, to God? Perhaps the simplest gift, which is free, is more civility. We have the potential to drown this planet in kindness if we so desire. Somewhere out there a familiar corporate phrase resonates: Just Do It.