It struck me that this was completely different from how I have acted for as long as I can remember. In my day, and to the present, when someone showed you a courtesy, you would show appreciation, “a little thing”.
Had I been the pedestrian and had I been shown the courtesy by the vehicle driver, I would have waved my “Thanks” and hurried across the road. I would have realized that the driver, while legally required to stop at the crosswalk, did me a courtesy by acknowledging my existence and my right to a safe crossing of the road. Normally, the driver would also have waved, reinforcing the belief that I deserved to cross the road safely and as appreciation for my accelerated crossing of the road, which allowed the vehicle to proceed and the driver to go on with daily actions more quickly. “A little thing”.
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I come from a time, somewhere around the time the dinosaurs were removed, when courtesy was not only natural but it was expected. It was mandated by my Mother, from an early age, that I consider others before myself. To do things for others and to give assistance to those in need. “A little thing”. To respect people, who were and still are, my seniors and who have experienced much over their many years and who deserve the grace, dignity and respect that should come with their advancing years. “A little thing”.
While I can remember a time before rocks became sand, I continue to open doors for everyone, the young (who rarely look up from their cell phones), the old, males, females, Black, White, Brown, and the occasional green space alien, ladies with little children and/or carriages and disabled people with walkers or wheelchairs. “A little thing”.
In the past I would be disturbed when having done a courtesy for someone I did not receive a nod or a wave of appreciation. As the years rolled quickly on, I noted that the nods and waves became less and less frequent and occasionally I would receive a verbal reprimand from someone who felt I was doing them a personal injustice by holding or opening a door. However, this did not decrease my almost single-minded drive to continue doing as I always have. “A little thing”.
To do a kindness costs nothing but a brief moment of time. It, if you follow the belief, adds to your “Karma” bank. It will normally cause the recipient to smile and possibly change their entire day. It will definitely cause you to smile and make your day as well. “A little thing”.
We live upon this amazing Planet as it speeds through space and, as far as we presently know, we are alone in this vast Universe. The only people that we have are those who dwell around us. Time will pass, as will people, places and things. Is it really too much to ask that we all respect the lives of others as we do our own? To show to others that kindness and courtesy that we ourselves would like to receive?
Courtesy and appreciation, give them both a try. It’s “a little thing”.
