Excuse me, Manners Matter.....

Aretha Franklin spelled it out for us.

R E S P E CT.

Mums and Dads told us they matter.

M A N N E R S.

Maroon 5 sang about how to get sugar.

“You sugar, yes P L E A SE.”

Alannis Morissette wrote about it

“T H A N K Y O U, thank you silence.”

Well, sorry Alannis, I can’t be silent any longer. While I appreciate the clarity silence can bring.

I have had enough.

I was raised that manners mattered. I was taught that they are the cornerstone of being a good, successful person. In short, they always matter. Period.

Can we continue to blame whether Mercury is rising or if a bad moon is rising for people’s flat out bad behaviour?

This week alone there have been five incidents where I have not just witnessed bad manners, they were confirmed with bad behaviour.

One was while waiting in line for a coffee, a lady with a trolley and a baby, was pushing through. The lady did not say excuse me. Another woman was hit by the trolley and murmured under her breath. The other lady then decided to tell that woman she was a f!2kingB%$th.

Another was a dear old lady, trying to work out the QR code check in on her phone. But instead of waiting for the lady, another woman huffed and puffed and carried on, because she had to take 5 minutes to wait.

Then there is me holding a door open, with no acknowledgment or a thank- you, followed, by constantly teaching my children to walk to the left on a footpath, only to end up off the path to accommodate everyone else.

Don’t even get me started on people who can’t start an email or an instant message with Hello, especially if you have never met someone before.

Oh and before I forget, a poor man, went to say hello to a lady and before he could say another word, she put her hand up to his face and said. “No I can’t talk to you, I am busy and I have had a bad day”.

Am I, too old fashioned? Am I snob? Maybe I am a Sensitive Sally?

But then I thought about it for a few days and I decided. No, I am none of those things.

I am a woman, who believes having respect for others is a big deal. It is the deal of all deals.

Not having them is a deal breaker, in fact.

Manners are not about showing you are better than someone, they are about showing respect to another human being.

Manners are a branch of the kindness tree, that reaches out to make people feel valued.

At times, I ponder and worry about the future, the future my children will be the adults and leaders of, and the concern that manners are dwindling is so sad.

But for every person, who doesn’t use manners, there are 10 people who use their manners frequently and with a smile on their face.

I remember my Grandfather, telling me one day over a cup of tea at smokeo, that it doesn’t cost you anything to say G’day to someone. I have carried his words with me to this day. Sometimes people are taking back when I say G’day in the street, but then a big grin crosses their face.

The yellow vibration of happiness carries through the air. Because we all have the ability to be that person who opens the door for someone; let the person in line with one item of groceries to go before you and your10,000 items; a G’day can change the outlook of someone’s day and using manners, not only matter to the recipient, they make YOU fell like you matter- because you do.

While you might think manners are from a bygone era, not important in the scheme of the world we live in today, you would be surprised how many little moments can make a difference and build to create generational change.

Manners Matter.

Big Love,

Fallon xoxo