When I was growing up, my parents taught me a practical way to apply the principle of “Love your fellow as yourself” by paraphrasing the words of Hillel, one of our great Jewish sages: “If you wouldn’t like it done to you, don’t do it to someone else.”
This is especially important as we move through our day and encounter the people who deliver services to us on a regular basis, who make our lives easier and the world a better place.
Sometimes, it’s difficult for us to see these people because of the job that they are doing or the uniform they are wearing. I hope the following story will help you to see everyone in your world.
A number of years ago, I was working in an office building with coffee areas on every floor. We were just starting to recycle paper and separate organics from the rest of the garbage. The company put a hole in the counter next to the coffee machine to make it easier for everyone to dispose of food scraps and coffee grounds.
The items we put in this hole went into a garbage pail hidden in the cabinet below, and the janitorial staff would clean out these pails and wipe out the cabinet at the end of the day.
One day I was working late and went to the coffee area for a break. A number of office workers were there, some getting ready to go home; others getting ready to work a few more hours. One of these folks pulled the basket of coffee grounds out of the coffee maker and dumped it down the hole in the counter...on top of a janitor who was cleaning out the cabinet.
I froze. Everything that happened afterwards seemed to be in slow motion for me. The young man, already on his hands and knees to clean out the cupboard, backed out and stood up. I tensed, expecting at best a string of curses directed at us; at worse an all-out fist fight as the janitor swung at everyone who treated him like garbage.
But instead, with a quiet dignity I had never seen then and have never seen since, he gently brushed the coffee grounds off his head and shoulders and carried on cleaning the coffee area.
No one else noticed what had happened; no one apologized; no one even indicated that anything had happened. They carried on with their conversations as they walked away from the coffee area to carry on with their day. It was as if this young man didn’t exist: he was invisible.
Ashamed for myself and everyone who could treat another person this way, I apologized for what had happened. He told me it was all part of the job. I told him that no one deserved to be treated that way or have coffee grounds dumped on them, no matter what their job was.
For reasons of privacy, I will not disclose his name, but I would like to thank him for teaching me this lesson: to see everyone; to acknowledge everyone.
When you go about your day, thank the folks you see for the jobs they are doing. And remember, “If you wouldn’t like it done to you, don’t do it to someone else”.
Fiona Prince is Communications & Behavioural Consultant in Victoria, BC. She volunteers for Chabad Vancouver Island, teaching children and adults how to read Hebrew. To learn with her, go to www.morahfaiga.com.
You can read more articles on our interfaith blog, Spiritually Speaking HERE.
