What happened to the golden age of manners? When we were all taught to recite even the most basic "please" and "thank you"? Once, I would have told you those that are joined to their cell phone were the worst, but that's not true anymore. Now I think that manners have slipped away for the most part because of people's attitudes towards their fellow man.
People don't care ... most of them.
If they did, they would look for someone behind them before they allow a door to close. They would put the cell phone down to ask for whatever it is they need. They would say thank you for whatever service had just been provided for them.
Now, granted, if I have just sold you a pack of cigarettes or a lottery ticket, or even a small pack of gum, it may be no big deal to you; but time was when interaction equaled manners. I say thank you, when I really mean "thank you for coming to my store, instead of that other one down the street". When I see my customer on two crutches coming across the parking lot, and I know he's coming to get his cigarettes, I go and open the door for him if I don't have a lineup in front of me. Because I know he appreciates the help, and it's the right thing to do.
He thanks me, and I know he is thanking me for my attention, and caring enough about him to help.
If I saw him at the mall, and I did not know him from a stranger and I had nothing to gain from the experience, I would open the door for him and hold it anyway.
Because it's the right thing to do. Because it is my job as a human being to help whoever I can.
So please, when you go about your daily lives, getting your coffee, gas or a loaf of bread, please think about the most basic of interactions, and remember that you really can change the course of a person's day with a simple "thank you".
I think I've grown a bit since my last post. I say this not to be egotistical, but as a way of exploring recent developments.
I have always been a spiritual person, just not in an obvious way. Lately, things are changing a little for me, helping me grow.
I am more aware of Spirit, the Universe, the Great Spirit, the POWER, call it whatever you like. I am getting more in tune with the elements, little by little, and spending more time inside myself. I feel the need to go out into the trees, get in tune with my drum again, pray from the midst of a creek, sit by a fire and feed it with cedar boughs and meditate in the dirt. I feel the need to connect with Mother Earth, the Grandfathers and Grandmothers, the Sky Beings and all the inhabitants of my Spiritual world. They bring me peace, and the older I get, I find I seek out and crave their peace more often. At the same time, I am driven to learn about other ways, not to change my Spiritual world, but understand another's better.
I will not turn my back on Owl while I learn about the Goddess. Learning about the elemental aspect of Wicca will help me to understand the bigger picture and see how similar our ways really are.
Through all of this, I have come to understand that not all change is horrible. Sometimes it is necessary to cut away the old growth to make room for the new bright shoots of understanding.
Sometimes we must travel through lessons we would rather avoid, to learn the hard truths. The truths that make us better, stronger and more resilient.
I would rather have avoided all the lessons, heartache and pain that my ex plopped into my world; but I still believe that at some point, my soul chose this general path for my life in order to learn from the experience.
I have always believed in reincarnation, even though I do not remember ever distinctly being told about it. I have always believed that our souls chose a general path before being born into each body; so that the soul can learn from each life and take the experiences back to the great body. The ancient Celts believed in reincarnation, according to the writings of Julius Caesar. Native people all over the world believe in the ability of the soul to be born time and time again. and of course reincarnation figures heavily in the beliefs of Buddists, Scientologists, Hindus, and the list goes on and on.
And this morning, while walking the youngest son to school, the thought hits me.
That's why I finish so few knitting projects.
It is not about the completion of a project; it is more about the stillness that the project brings my soul.
I do not want the stillness to be replaced by the anxiety of starting a new project, so I fear the finish.
Carolyn
