Yes sir, yes ma'am. No ma'am, no sir. May I? Please. THANK YOU.... As youngsters, these phrases all fell in a bucket called common courtesy. It represented the way you showed your respect for someone else, yourself, and had good home training. But somewhere along the last several years, I've seen a decline in some of the basic principles. What was once a COMMON courtesy has now become a RARITY.
What happened?
2 shifts!
The first shift I noticed, was the lack of raising our children with these disciplines. It just was not instilled in many of our youth/young adults today. If someone questioned a child about it, they were questioning the parenting and would be told by society to mind their business. I can raise my child how I see fit. (Does it NOT take a village to raise a child??) Anywho, for fear of being called judgmental, nosey, or the like, the questions stopped being asked, therefore the significance of these COMMON courtesy's began to disseminate. Thereby causing the expectation of the common courtesy to go out the window!
Then there was the 2nd shift.
Not only did we stop expecting the common courtesy, we stopped requiring it. Don't even want it!! I can recall hearing these phrases a time or 2 in my life.... maybe not directly to me, but I've heard people say them:
Thank God, pay me.
My car doesn't run on thank you's, it runs on gas.
Now I'm not advocating for usery (not a word, but it works...) in fact if you ask someone for a ride give them gas money.... and NO $5 is no longer a reputable amount to give! Lol
However, I think these 2 statements show where our value of the simple common courtesy has really gone. Have we in our efforts to make sure we're not abused or taken advantage of, forgotten the lessons of our adolescent days? Do we care more about repayment than someone offering a sincere thank you???
Yes, this is going to turn into a holiday message about being THANKFUL!
Because the truth of the matter is, it is STILL a common courtesy!! Whether or not someone expects it from you. Whether or not you're accustomed to giving it. Whether or not you feel you are owed something more. Being thankful is one of the greatest gifts you can give to someone else and receive from at the same time.
Parents be thankful for the things your kids DIDN'T do! Children be thankful for the things your parents DID do! Husband be thankful for the part of the meal she DIDN'T burn! Wife be thankful for the times he DIDN'T leave the toilet seat up! (That was so typical gender roles stuff lol forgive me it's 2am and I'm trying to complete this... LOL) Anywho, singles be thankful for the people God DIDN'T allow you to marry! Unhappy employee be thankful for the lousy employer you DO have! Dogs be thankful your owner DIDN'T leave you at the store! Lol
Do you get my drift?? Instead of focusing on the negative, focus on the positive. You'll find there's much more to be thankful for than not. And not only will the other person appreciate your thanksgiving, you in turn will cause the 3rd shift of grateful, thankful heart/minded people.... Bringing us back to the COMMON courtesy.
