Etcetera, Etcetera, Etcetera
There are some rather ‘unforgiveable’ social sins, like using your butter knife to spread butter on your toast and also to use it to take up and spread jam with that fall into the category of gross. Well, at my house they do.
The unforgiveable thing about that practise is the bits of butter and toast crumbs that get left in the jam jar or dish. Let’s just say, it rarely happens in my house! I don’t know where I got that disaffectation from, I just find it grossly off-putting. Or maybe I’m just a pain in the proverbial. I mean, who still uses a spoon and then a knife to put jam onto their toast. Call it social ettiquette, but I do!
The most ‘unforgiveable’ social sin to me though is a person or persons continual lateness to invited events. Now before you read me the riot act about getting an entire family ready to go out and the time that it takes, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera (no-one says it like Yul in the King And I … delicious!) I know.
And it does take a little bit more work in comparison to a single who can just get up and go. However, to my way of thinking, continual lateness is disrespectful. Yes it is. It’s disrespectful to the host and it’s disrespectful to the other guests who have made the effort to get to the same event on time. Is it then, about social ettiquette again? Yes it is.
I can hear some of your thoughts now, who cares? Well, to begin with, your host (although they’d rarely say but should) and the other invited guests (of whom some might comment or laugh it off as, “just you”) and you should. That’s right, you should care.
The practise itself, of being late, can be viewed as reflective of a settled disposition or as it’s more commonly known, a habit. What I’d like to know is, why is it easier to perpetuate a ‘bad’ habit as opposed to a ‘good’ one? No really, I wonder that. Is it that we have such a flagrant disregard for the value of our friendships that we think it just doesn’t matter? I mean, seriously, what’s a little lateness between friends? Seriously speaking, alot I’d say.
Well, put another way, why do you dislike your friends so much? Maybe you think that’s an extreme thought? On the contrary. It’s simply a way of putting some of the more seemingly mundane aspects of our lives in the spotlight. From time to time, I do think they should have their day in the sun. Bottom line, it goes to manners.
And manners is really what we think toward our friends, our work colleagues, people in general. But mainly, it’s about how well of ourselves we think to improve our lot as a friend, as a work colleague, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.
And people do constantly seek to improve their relationships with others (being on time is just a practical way of doing that) because it’s so worth it. The scales tip immeasurably in our favour when we prove ourselves reliable, loyal and trustworthy in those small things.
Small things, maybe that’s what this is really all about. And if that’s the case, small things are really quite do-able. Try and see. Maybe those stares over the years you’ve imagined you get really weren’t imagined. Maybe, it had something to do with the monkey on your back. And maybe, it’s time to set the monkey free.
Go ahead. Set it free if you dare. Try being on time for a change and see how nice the feeling is. Enjoy the surprised looks on your friend’s faces. Bask in that. And then, make it a habit of a lifetime. Honestly, you’ll wonder why it took you so long. Enjoy.
