Can not eating the last cookie change the world?

Sure.

Seriously, I truly believe that. Observe:

I was walking from my house to the train station on Tuesday. Now, a mile is not a long walk, but it feels long when the wind is whipping around and the temperature is less than 10F. I live in a city, so there's almost never a time in the day when I don't have to negotiate space with other people. Sometimes, this can make you damned cranky.

Cranky the way I was Tuesday morning. My thinking went this way--

What is wrong with this stupid city? These people couldn't plow their sidewalks? No, of course not, because pedestrians don't mean anything, do we? Nope. All about the damn cars. And look at that idiot, walking right in front of that guy who only wants to get out of the garage so he can get to work! Stupid pedestrian! You can't wait one stinking second?

And what, seriously, is with these sidewalks! Oh yes, by all means, make me walk on the mounds of ice and snow on the side. Why do I always have to be the one to get out of the way? You know what? I'm totally not getting out of the way next time.

Oh, come on! You couldn't get out of the way of that woman with the cane? I mean, come on--walk up on the ice and snow on the side, for God's sake!

I hate people! Hate them.

And yes, as I kept up the running commentary in my head, I was well aware of the contradictions I was spewing. I'm also well aware of the fact that, when there's a situation where one person needs to get out of another person's way, I am never the other person.

It's not that I like walking in the pollution-blackened ice and snow that mounds around the walking spaces left by people navigating unshoveled sidewalks, it's just that, much as I gripe in the privacy of my own head, I can get out of the way, so I might as well.

My mother would call that being a nice person.

My friends might call that being a pushover.

But I think my mom is on to something. If the standard policy is to be the one to get out of the way, the one to give up your day off for another employee, the one to not eat the last cookie, then it follows that living like this in all things is a good way to help the environment, the economy, and the society.

For instance: I arrive at work and the sidewalk isn't shoveled and I know my boss isn't going to be in for a while. I also know I have about half an hour before I really have to address anything pressing. So I choose to take the shovel and clear the sidewalk. Since I've got half an hour and I relish a little exercise, I come back out with the broom and sweep it all clean. No salt needed.

So, by being the nice person, I've saved my boss some work, I've saved the environment the fumes of a gas-powered snow blower and the pollution of some road salt, and I've potentially saved the neighbors from a nasty spill. All with half an hour of my time.

Did I mention I also got half an hour of cardio in?

Yes, yes--I'm well aware that this example has nothing to do with cookies (though I could probably justify eating an extra one since I expended so much energy), but it gets to the same point.

Not eating the last cookie means not using up ALL the resources. It means not choosing to whip out the credit card (whose balance you can't pay off) to buy the Wii Fit (that will only use more electricity anyway) when you could go for a free, lung-cleansing walk. It means not buying all the prepackaged foods and the junk food in styrofoam and the lemons from Brazil because you're using so many more resources than you and the planet have to spare.

We have one planet of resources. Not taking the last cookie means not using more than you (and the planet) can afford. If we could all do that, there might be enough cookies that no one could ever take the last one. Imagine--Earth, the never-ending cookie jar!

Wouldn't that be a great bumper sticker?