Could it be that expectations for good manners have changed over the years? As time has gone by, the state in the western world is now doing much of what we had to do for one another in the past for our communities and families. Wheras we wouldn’t have thought twice about knocking on a neighbour’s door with a basket of food for a family who were going through a hard time, nowadays it’s often expected that the state will help them out and anyway, with the high standard of living we strive to maintain, many people aren’t at home long enough to notice the plights of their own families, let alone their neighbours.
Yet in all this change, we still try to hang onto to a small portion of good manners at least and we all try in our own ways to teach them to our children. We certainly can’t afford to leave it to the schools. The challenge is to let our children see them in us, their role models, so that they are won over by our thankfulness and respect for others. A none-too mean task in our lives that are often very stressful, but one that is very worthwhile all the same, as it brings with it huge rewards, the least of which is thankful and well-mannered children.
Sometimes it’s easier to say Thank-You in written form. A text message might not be quite enough, but a thank you poem can really touch the spot. Anyway, maybe it is time to bring good manners back to the personal level and make time for showing community and family spirit to those around us! Check out this beautiful collection of thank you poems.