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Am going nostalgic this time thinking of mom.
She taught me a lot of things; she was both my guru and hero. Among the
nuggets of wisdom lined up in my head, I remember this one most.......
Mom taught me and kid brother to be polite with people since we were kids. When I grew older I took that lesson further to that point when even if the other person was unpleasant, to say the least.. I would still be nice and be in my best behavior with that person. Mom's words always stayed at the back of my mind..... 'Be polite.'
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But when I grew older, much older and understood more about life and people, things began to change. Better yet said, I changed. It was now knowing who the good guys are and who the jerks are and filling up my life more with the first. I no longer waste my time with those types whose main goal in life is to make other people miserable in theirs. Further have learned that nothing one can ever do no matter the good intent will change them because by all appearances they seem to be happy in who they are, in the mean things that they do, in the selfish choices that they make. Happy... Not really so, a beloved teacher once said, -- poor souls with heaps of insecurities disguised in the form of superiority though superficial in its being and core. If rudeness is second nature to them, yours be that of being polite. Pray for them though, she added, they will need all the help that they can get.
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Mom also reminded me to surround myself with good people. She described good people as having their hearts in their heads and their heads in their hearts. At first I had difficulty in understanding that until I had the chance and opportunity to meet them and experience their goodness while traveling down my own life journey.
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Among other fine qualities I saw in them was their being polite. This politeness, as I had observed, stemmed from a foundation of sincere consideration and respect for others. They cared about not hurting nor offending anyone in any perceived way or manner. They seemed to have learned the art of loving people both in their good and in their bad.
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So it's not just about good manners -- of saying . 'Thank you' . 'Please' . 'I'm sorry' .'Excuse me' . or offering a seat to an older person in the bus, or doing the simple courtesies of daily interaction. It's about honest care and respect towards a fellow
human being be that in matters huge or small, of significance or not, or even in the simple day to day experiences of our mundane lives. Or as simply summed up by the ordinary man on the street....... 'you want to be treated right, treat a person right'. I believe I've read that too somewhere in the Book --- 'Do unto others as you would want others do unto you'.... or something like it.
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Be polite.. it's not just all about manners; it's also about being kind. And I believe that we are sent lessons by life everyday to hone our skills in that direction.
