Yesterday I was waiting for a parking spot, watching a lady get into her uber-fancy car. She got in quickly, only to then open the door, look around, and deposit a Styrofoam coffee cup on the pavement before speeding away. I pulled into her spot, retrieved the cup, and dumped it in the convenience store garbage ten feet away from the space (taking me all of three seconds). Just as I was shaking my head, I heard a loud crash. Two guys were talking in front of a hotel garage entrance next door, and one had dropped a large tumbler glass. He and his buddy laughed, and then walked away, just to the other side of the ramp entrance. I stared at them for a minute, thinking, no way are they leaving a giant pile of glass on the sidewalk? But yes, it seemed they were. So I went into the convenience store and asked the lady there for a brush and a pan, and that two guys outside needed a mom to clean up after them. She handed me the stuff and I brushed it up, but not before saying loudly to the guys,

“DON’T WORRY, I’M SURE SOMEONE ELSE WILL TAKE CARE OF THIS FOR YOU.”

They looked embarrassed and scuttled off. What the heck is wrong with people? I thought. Is there no consideration for others? Are we all so concerned with ourselves that we don’t stop to think? It’s in the papers and the news: worldwide, our levels of empathy have plummeted to an all new low. If this is the trend, what comes next? Most likely its worse than littering or not cleaning up after oneself.

I am stepping off the soap-box now, to show you something good, something that does give me hope. If there’s one thing that should go viral on the Internet, it should be this. Please watch this six-minute video, and share with everyone you know, especially educators. Club G is an amazing group of kids, and they are going to foster empathy; they give me hope that the future is not lost. I don’t think our school is the only one in the world that could benefit from a group like this one. If schools around the world did this…well, just watch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FwuMHnR9BU

There, feel better? Sorry it made you cry. Now pass it on, this is the important part. Maybe to everyone you know. This could be the thing you pass on that makes a real difference. (Keep sending the cat videos though, those make me laugh).

When I brought the garbage back into the store, the clerk at the counter thanked me, and said something about “the world being a better place” and I thanked her, and choked up a little, because I wasn’t really saving the world, you know?  But this video might; the world will be a better place if these kids become the norm and not the exception. I’m sure they’ll clean up after themselves, too.

Interested in starting your own Club G? See www.seedsociety.ca