Do the Math

Since the start of this amazing movement, I have been trying to think of different things that I could do as my Karri Hour. I decided that while figuring out what I want to spend my Karri Hour doing each week, I would try and see the world the way that Karri did. To see the good in people – family, friends, acquaintances or strangers, instead of judging them. To lend a helping hand, because it helps someone, not because it benefits me. To listen to someone, and really hear what they have to say. Even offering a smile, because just a smile really can change things. Karri exemplified all of these things, and I was not only an observer, but a recipient of his actions, and I know it made a difference in my life. Trying to see the world “through Karri’s eyes” everyday has truly taken my breath away. To see how much we really can affect the world, even if it is just one person’s world, it is still a difference.

In the past couple of weeks, I have come to realize that I have been contributing to Karri Hour, without really realizing it. I realized that an hour a week is the same as about 9 minutes a day. 9 minutes, most of us spend more time than that driving to work, riding the bus to school, waiting for an appointment or class to start. There are 1440 minutes in a day, and 9 minutes each day adds up to a weekly Karri Hour. When I thought about it this way, I realized that I probably had done a Karri Hour each week, and had just not realized it. It may not have been 9 consecutive minutes each day, but most days it probably did add up to that. The most recent example I can think of happened the other day, while I was at work. I work at the hospital as Dietary Aide. On this particular day, I had delivered dinner trays and was on my way back around to collect them. An elderly patient, whom I had delivered dinner to more than once that week, let me know that she was finished with her tray, and as I took it away, she asked me if any of her family knew she was in the hospital. I only work the dinner hour, so I had to tell her that I didn’t know. But in the few nights I had seen her there, no one had been in her room with her. With tight timelines to meet in my shift it’s hard to stop and visit with a patient. But seeing the look on her face, I knew that I had to stop and chat with her for a few minutes. I sat with her for 5 minutes and listened as she told me about her family, her life. She never mentioned where she was from, so I didn’t know if her family was in town, or if they are far away and unable to visit. But as I left the room, she took my hand and said thank you, and smiled, which in the days I had seen her I had never seen a smile on her face. I realized then I made a difference in her day, and having to stay an extra few minutes at work was worth it. I went back at the end of the next shift I worked to spend some more time with her, but she was no longer in the room. Even though it was only 5 minutes, it was something.

I will admit that for the several weeks since this movement has started, I felt as though I hadn’t done anything that was worth posting about. I couldn’t find the words, nor did I feel there was much worth to the little things that I had tried to do. But then I thought about the kind of person Karri was. He didn’t do one hour of good a week, it was the way he lived his life. He was a positive person who made a positive impact on the world. See the world through Karri’s eyes. Some weeks I may do a consecutive hour, some weeks it may be 9 minutes a day. It took me awhile to realize, but just by being a better person it is contributing to Karri Hour.

Jill Skube