What's Happened To Good Manners?

Is it just me or am I right thinking respect and manners aren't considered to be important anymore?

Call me old fashioned but I genuinely think manners matter. Respect and kindness combine to make life more enjoyable and give a deeper meaning to relationships.

Are people really that busy nowadays, they can't find the time and make the effort to be nice and polite?

I was away on conferences not so long ago and happened to bump into some people I'd not met for a long time. On my way to meet a friend in a nearby restaurant a stranger ran past me not bothering to hold the door of the hotel entrance. No excuse only a hostile glare as the door slammed in my face.

Catching a train to another meeting I didn't get the opportunity to relax and prepare myself for the event with all the noise from people around me. No one cared about their fellow passengers, only themselves.

Drained and exhausted I arrived at my meeting half an hour late due to unforeseen delays. It wouldn't have mattered so much if the train journey wasn't as awful.

Manners matter. It can be the difference between a good or bad experience. A gesture of goodwill, offering to assist another person with something, and taking the time to listen, are all small steps in the right direction.

Hélene xx