Pleases and Thank Yous

'The small courtesies sweeten life; the great ennoble it' - Christian Nestell Bovee

'Courtesy is a way of life', what is your take on this?

I was driving at the highway yesterday noon and my car was running out of petrol so I stopped at the Shell petrol station near Sg. Besi. Despite the irritatingly hot weather, the counter personnel was really friendly and he greeted every single customer with a warm smile, which I find impressive. I smiled back and greeted 'thank you', as a recognition of his effort in providing service at his best. I was filled with a sense of contentment through a stranger's warmth and goodness.

Just as I was about to be convinced of the idea of courtesy still being practised in today's society, something happened and failed me. An old Australian couple was filling petrol into their car parked in front of mine. And there was a huge double-decker bus parked next to their vehicle. The bus driver sat in the driver seat with the bus engine on, so I guessed he had pumped petrol and was ready to leave. Unexpectedly, an incredibly loud and lengthy car honk was released from the bus out of nowhere. It was so disturbingly loud that some of us jumped to the sound and everyone turned their heads towards the bus to catch a glimpse of the happening. I caught a sight of the old Australian man looking like the loud honk scared the living daylight out of him. I was puzzled for a moment as I question the reason behind this irrational and inconsiderate behaviour of the bus driver. It turns out that he was honking at the bus passengers who were buying things inside the mini mart, signalling them to hurry up and get back into the bus. I pitied the poor old man as he stood nearest to the bus.

That wasn't the end. In less than 3 minutes, the bus driver honked again, this time even louder and longer. The old man jumped again to the sound of the intensely loud honk. He turned to the bus driver and said 'Hey! Stop doing that!'. And then the bus driver scrolled down the window and shouted back at the top of his lungs 'Shut up! You've got a problem?? I do what I want! This is my job! F*** off!'. Everyone at the petrol station were stunned by the bus driver's words. The poor old man was in silence as the bus driver continued to scream at him with nasty words. The bus driver's impudence was humiliating and disappointing. What happened to his morality? Where are the values as promoted by the government's campaign of ''Budi Bahasa Budaya Kita / Courtesy is our culture''?

I'm sure most of us have come upon road bullies. I'm referring to those drivers who drive way too fast, come way too near to the back of your car, then overtake your car. BUT, that wasn't the end, they just had to pull off some filthy moves as they overtake, such as flashing their middle finger, or screaming foul words.  I've had countless encounters with road bullies and I find them very very disgusting, simply because I don't get why it is so hard for them to act like decent human beings.

I strongly believe that courtesy is a way of life. Courtesy is being respectful and considerate towards others, and that's what makes us a civilization. Everyone wishes to be treated nicely. The act of consideration starts from ourselves if we desire the same treatment from others. Courtesy is as simple as a warm smile, or an acknowledgement like 'thank you', or apologizing when we make a mistake. Often we are overtaken by our emotions and let it get in our way. If we could be thoughtful of what others are going through, negativity can be eliminated from our lives.

A man may fight fiercely in a war, a business, or in a court, but he does not need to fight to get ahead of everyone else in a queue. No one is too big or too busy to practice courtesy, as it is one of the little things that could change the world. Random acts of kindness bring you a lifetime of happiness.

After all, is it really that hard to say 'Please' and 'Thank You'?

Let us all practice kindness and pass it on. Go put a smile on someone's face today. =)

"Courtesy is the one coin you can never have too much of or be stingy with." - John Wanamaker, entrepreneur.

Sincerely,
Yvonne