Every weekday, I am at the church at 6 a.m. to drop youngest daughter off to seminary class. This morning, three cars arrived at the same time, dropping off 2 girls and 1 boy. I noticed the boy jump out of the car, hop up the stairs, and hold the door for both girls. I smiled as I realized that this is a common occurrence. The boys follow the men's examples and hold open the doors; the girls follow the women's examples and thank those who hold open the doors.
When I got home from the church, I started reading the newspaper. One of the editorials was lamenting the state of societal manners. The author was upset by unsupervised children in stores, by the general sloppiness of dress, and by the coarseness of language. She concluded her editorial by asking if she was the only one who had noticed this decline of decorum.
In answer to that question, I will say that it seems that society is more divided now than in the past; more extreme. I have witnessed the situations that the author cited, but I have also seen many examples of courteous children; neatly-attired individuals; and kind, calm conversations.
Generally speaking, I'm an optimist. Negativity screams, it is loud, noisy, and overbearing. But the positive is there. It just happens to be quiet, meek, and unassuming. It sometimes requires looking beyond the distractions, but there is still much good in the world. And as any observer of Disney movies knows, the good guys always win in the end. :-)
Thankful thought of the day: Thanks to the young man who held the door this morning, thanks to all those who hold doors, and thanks to those who graciously accept the courtesy. Thanks also to my great husband, who makes me feel special every day by opening car doors, as well as building doors, for me.
When I got home from the church, I started reading the newspaper. One of the editorials was lamenting the state of societal manners. The author was upset by unsupervised children in stores, by the general sloppiness of dress, and by the coarseness of language. She concluded her editorial by asking if she was the only one who had noticed this decline of decorum.
In answer to that question, I will say that it seems that society is more divided now than in the past; more extreme. I have witnessed the situations that the author cited, but I have also seen many examples of courteous children; neatly-attired individuals; and kind, calm conversations.
Generally speaking, I'm an optimist. Negativity screams, it is loud, noisy, and overbearing. But the positive is there. It just happens to be quiet, meek, and unassuming. It sometimes requires looking beyond the distractions, but there is still much good in the world. And as any observer of Disney movies knows, the good guys always win in the end. :-)
Thankful thought of the day: Thanks to the young man who held the door this morning, thanks to all those who hold doors, and thanks to those who graciously accept the courtesy. Thanks also to my great husband, who makes me feel special every day by opening car doors, as well as building doors, for me.
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Conversations are so much nicer when more than one person does the talking. :-) Please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts; I'd love to hear from you!