HOW MUCH PAIN IS THERE TO SAY THANK YOU

I remember when I was much younger and within a short few months of being able to get my driver’s license, my father made sure to emphasize that it is customary to wave thank you when someone lets you merge into a lane.

Whatever happened to that sense of respect for others? What about holding the door open for someone? Or lending someone a hand just because?

Is every person in such a rush that they have left their manners at home, or better yet, forgotten what they were?

I also remember my nanny, a stiff upper-lipped young lady from Bath, England, reprimanding me for having my elbows on the table while I was waiting for my dinner. Or teaching me which side the knife and fork go on when setting the table.

I can go on, likely for many pages, but this is a simple observation that occurred to me today when I let someone in front of me on the highway and there was absolutely no acknowledgement of that fact. To be quite honest, it worries me about the state of this world where everyone seems to be in such a hurry to get ahead that it is acceptable to do so without gratitude.

It makes one question whether the world, not just the youth (too easy to blame them), is moving forward or backward or sideways as a human race. We have all these people shouting, “Go Green”, or “Equal Rights for …” So we have taken steps forward in that there are fewer companies who are not at least aware of the importance of protecting our environment and the people working for them, but as a society I believe we have taken some steps backward too.

For there to be a movement where people are encouraged to do something nice to someone without recourse, then the conclusion is a foregone one for me.

Ok, rant/observation finished but for the love of life, take a moment to contemplate your navel because you may pull out far more than lint from your life.