Politeness

Goethe wrote, "There is a politeness of the heart; it is akin to love."

Isn't that true? And doesn't it make your day when people are polite to one another? It's not the false 'Have a nice day' politeness, but the sense that when someone serves you, or you are served, in a shop, there is genuine interaction and mutual respect; the sense that when you hold open a door, or hold a door open for someone else, there is mutual respect. Companies, I believe, send people on courses to teach them this 'skill' but it cannot be taught - it's something inside us. If we respect one another, recognize the greatness in one another then politeness is the natural response. Politeness isn't a sham - when it is, one senses it immediately - but a true appreciation of the value of the person in front of us, isn't it? It's lovely when people treat us with respect.

When I was a teenager, an elderly gentleman lived down the road and whenever I passed him, he raised his hat in so gentlemanly a fashion that made me feel wonderful! So small a thing to do and so greatly appreciated. A little more awareness of other people, and we change someone's world!

"True politeness is the spirit of benevolence showing itself in a refined way. It is the expression of good-will and kindness. It promotes both beauty in the man who possesses it, and happiness in those who are about him." Henry Ward Beecher