Yesterday I opened this blog with the idea that manners matter. And where they matter most is on the inside. Our inside. Because when we give, the person we give to is blessed by our selflessness and attitude of grace. But we are the ones blessed to a greater degree for the feeling of joy we get when we give.
I grew up in a society where manners mattered—when you came in contact with the “outside world”. Yet inside the home, for the most part, manners were left at the door like dirty shoes. It some ways it seemed to me, that by bringing manners inside the home somehow burdened the inner atmosphere with unwanted expectations and responsibilities.
In public, personal warmth and kindness were often exemplary. But they were only skin-deep, their substance weightless because they came from an external set of rules on how to behave in public, rather than an internal mindset of love and good-naturedness.
I’ve written manners matter on the inside. That’s not only true inside us as individuals, but inside our homes, behind closed doors with our family. If our families are those we know and love the most, how much more important is it that we give our utmost to them?
My hope is that you will be inspired to join me in my quest to practice good manners in all things, and in all places, every day!
