About Courtesy
It’s not about chivalry or being a lady.
It is about the love for the living, the love for the people and yourself, and even the love for our wonderful Earth.
When we are courteous, we remember consciously or unconsciously that we are interconnected, and that our actions affect others.
If you look up the definition you can see it yourself, according to the Cambridge Dictionary, looking at the definitions of “Courtesy” and “Polite” we have that: Being a courteous (or polite) person means being a person whose actions are socially correct and demonstrate an understanding and consideration of the feelings of others.
The definition can be accurate and a guide for all people but can be a little tricky if you lean only toward the socially correct aspect, instead, I propose to emphasize the aspect of considering all persons involved in our interactions.
Little by little
It can start with little actions, like putting things where they are supposed to be, let me share an example.
The other day I was in the parking lot of a supermarket, and it was full of scattered shopping carts, there was even one between the doors on the passenger side of my car, right where I stood, which, for someone with crutches, is not easy to maneuver. I am aware that people are not psychics and that it may not be the person’s intention to do my moment harder, but What about the people who work at the supermarket or the ones who are going to need a shopping cart? It isn´t that hard and you will be respectful and polite to others by putting the shopping cart where it belongs.
It is a choice
Some things are learned: for example, the social protocols like greetings and saying thank you; or the road rules, such as where to cross the street.
We are not in the antique times when it was expected chivalry or be a lady, when being polite was a social construct linked to your social status and education.
I have witnessed people of high education being cruel and rude to people around me, just because they don´t like the person. When did being polite become linked to whether you like someone or not?
It is an act of love towards yourself to see beyond yourself and accept that the other person is human just like you, whether you like it or not. So, they are deserving of love and respect just like you. If you decide to look beyond yourself and see around you will discover that not only you are not alone, but that your actions affect others.
Please decide to be courteous in your everyday life, we all have bad days, but your decisions today will impact your life and the others, not only humans, but all beings.
With our acts of love we can improve the well-being of ourselves and those around us, with our love we can improve our world.
What do you think?
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