I decided that from now on, if I was unhappy with something, I would say so, or at least attempt to do something to change it and bring it up to a standard that I accept, and not simply walk past.

It reminded me of the fantastic Manic Street Preacher’s song “If you tolerate this, your children will be next."

If we think that rubbish on the ground looks bad, then by walking past it, we’re accepting that the rubbish is allowed to be there and accumulate. Just because it’s not in our “job description” doesn’t stop us from picking it up and instigating a standard that we are prepared to accept, although I won't be picking up every piece of rubbish I walk by.

So I started my ‘personal revolution’ today at work: I was in the meal room eating my lunch and I threw out some rubbish that someone else had left behind on the table. (Well either they’d left it behind, or they hadn’t quite finished their lunch yet and I threw it away, because there was still a few mouthfuls of drink left in the canJ)

Usually, I’d put my own rubbish in the bin and then leave thinking, “It’s not my job to clean up other people’s mess, that’s what the cleaner’s for.” But today, I saw it in a different light: If I walk past that rubbish on the table, I am advertising that this is the standard (and behaviour) that I am accepting from my fellow workmates.

I’m not expecting any praise for what I’m attempting to do and not saying I’m a saint all of a sudden (because I’ve walked past many standards that I shouldn’t have accepted before), but if I can maintain this new way of thinking, I will.

(PS  The owner of the bag with the poignant phrase on it then proceeded to put his feet with his dirty work boots up on the seat on the train. But I didn’t say anything, because I hadn’t started my revolution yet! )