During the past 38 days in Pakistan, I did one thing very passionately. Every time I was at a shop or supermarket to buy some small thing, I refused to get the customary plastic big. Not only that, but Id take the opportunity to joke with the shopkeeper, say a couple of pleasant word and then tell him that they should always ask the customer if a plastic bag is required instead of always giving them one automatically with every tiny little thing that they purchased. Id continue and say that if 1 out of 5 customer say no when asked if they need a plastic bag, we can make a big difference. Some shopkeepers would really appreciate the idea. Some would be rather be critical and say that this wont change anything unless there is a top down policy implemented by the govt. In any case, this practice give me a lot of happiness personally and I always saw that not only I spared myself from the guilty of contributing plastic bags to the streets (thats where they go in Pakistan) but also was able to give a smile or two to the people who I spoke with. And that our conversation included salam and chalain apnay khayal rakhye ga; something which is a rarity in Pakistan. The point sharing this is that, most of us want to do positive things for our society. But there are not many people who actually end up doing that. The reason is simple. We all want to do big things. Massive things. Something shiny and with large impact. Very few among us really want to do small things. Real small things even though when doing requires almost no effort. There are thousands of things we could do of such nature like a habit that can gradually impact our society and environment without us even noticing. This is real happiness. Say no to plastic bags and speak to the shopkeeper to educate him. Make him smile. Make his day better. I tell you coming out of his shop and sitting back in the car you will be smiling. Smiling all the way :)
Posted on: Mon, 29 Dec 2014 00:58:05 +0000
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