"If a man be gracious and courteous to strangers, it shows he is a citizen of the world, and that his heart is no island cut off from other lands, but a continent that joins to them." - Francis Bacon, Sr.
Question: How many times in a day are you courteous to others? Do you give up your seat for an elderly person on the bus or just sit there and pretend you don't see them looking for a seat? Do you respond to a homeless person that speaks to you or just treat them as though they were less than human?
Not long ago, it seems that being courteous was a common occurrence in daily life. Today, that's not so much the way things are. Whatever happened to help your fellow man? Perhaps it's due the media an exceedingly good job at striking fear into our hearts. So much so that we've become apprehensive about helping anyone lest we become a victim in spite of our own innate generosity and kindness.
Even in our own homes it seems that common courtesy has been replaced by animosity, cynicism and rudeness. When did it become second nature to belittle one another? When did we decide as a society that it was better to ridicule our family members to make ourselves look good?
We have to rethink this people! We need to get back to basics and strip ourselves of this burning need to be unkind and distrustful. We need to open our hearts and minds to the possibility that ALL people possess the innate quality of goodness. If you can't be courteous for someone else's sake then by all means, be selfish! Do it because it'll make YOU feel better while leaving the other person feeling appreciated and motivated to do the same for others. Meditate on This: I choose to be courteous to all beings, great and small, in honor of my Divine nature.
Have a PERFECT day!
Michael
My II Sense
