Feed The Good Wolf

When I was a kid my mother taught me manners. She was teaching me what her mother taught her, things called, common courtesies. Say, “Please” when asking for something, “Thank you” when you recieve it. If someone drops something, pick it up for them. Let old ladies and pregnant women have a seat on the bus. Common Courtesies, right?

For the past several years I have absolutely loathed spending time in public places. I get irritated, impatient and angry whenever I have to deal with strangers. I started to wonder what was wrong with me then I payed closer attention and realized that common courtesies are not so common anymore.

For example, when I am standing in line at the grocery store with my full cart, I noticed a man with only a carton of milk. I let him go ahead of me, I would hate to stand behind someone with a full cart if I only had one item. When coming to a stop at a stop light, I make sure to not block any driveways or streets. I give the guy in line ahead me the nickel he is short for his groceries. Yet, countless times I have been on the reverse end of these situations and very rarely is the favor returned.

My absolute biggest pet peeve is when people cut me off, whether on the road or in person. I was taught that if I walk in front of someone who is looking at something, or accidentally bump into someone to say, “Excuse me.” or at least the quick version, “Scuse me.” My husband and I went Christmas shopping yesterday and countless people walked in front of me, bumped into me, cut in front of me, stood in front of me to look at the same thing etc. and only ONE lady said, “Excuse me.” I cannot tell you how angry this makes me.

How rude have we become as a society? Are courtesies extinct? Are we just in too much of a hurry and too short on space to spend that extra second to use manners?

When was the last time you said, “You too.” when the clerk tells you to have a nice day? When was the last time you held a door open for someone?

There is a Cherokee proverb that I find fitting for this dilemma. In the proverb the Grandson is concerned about a personal struggle within himself. We can also apply this proverb to the general public and the universe in general. It is as follows;

An old Cherokee chief was teaching his grandson about life…

“A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy.
“It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves.

“One is evil – he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, self-doubt, and ego.

“The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.

“This same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person, too.”

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather,
“Which wolf will win?”

The old chief simply replied,
“The one you feed.”

Author Unknown

My challenge to you this Christmas season is this: Feed the good wolf in others, be polite and courteous while out and about this shopping season.

Copyright © 2008 Word Sprout