Every so often, I’ll hear or remember a phrase that stops me dead in my tracks. Sometimes, it will be a phrase that I’ve heard countless times, but for some reason takes on a new meaning or makes me expend some of my limited brain power to examine a little closer.
Take the phrase “hopeless romantic” for example. We’ve all heard it a million times, on TV, in movies, and in our day to day lives. “Oh, never mind her. She’s a hopeless romantic.” To me, it seems that this phrase contradicts itself. I think there is never any hopelessness in romance. On the contrary, there are times when romantic feelings help us to renew our sense of faith in humanity when we’ve lost it. When it seems that everyone in the world is lining up to shit all over us, a simple romantic gesture can turn the tide of negativity into something positive and meaningful.
I’ve always been a romantic at heart, and I hope I never lose that feeling. Of wanting to surprise my wife with flowers, for no reason. “Why the flowers babe?” “Just because, sweetheart”. Reminding her often that I think she’s the most beautiful woman on the planet, even if she doesn’t believe it to be the case. Leaving little notes on the kitchen table before I leave for work, just to tell her to have a great day.
Romance isn’t dead. Sometimes it may be lying dormant, but it’s still very much alive and well, and still filled with hope.
++++++++
“Common courtesy” is another one of those sets of words that seem to be out of place with each other. Like they don’t belong together. In this day and age, there isn’t anything common about courtesy. Addressing people as “ma’am” or “sir”. Holding a door open for a woman or an older person. Helping someone carry a heavy load of groceries up a flight of stairs. There are, in fact, a lot of people walking about using up oxygen who have no clue how to go about treating others with simple basic human respect and dignity.
A few years back, I was in the market for a new computer while visiting my parents in Denver. The first store I went to, the salesman kept addressing me as “dude”, and treating me like I was some kind of joke, which I found offensive. The next store I visited, I was addressed as “sir” and treated like I was someone of importance, someone worth investing some time in. A salesman who listened to what I had to say, and went out of his way to find the solution I was looking for. Not only did I buy the new computer at the second store along with a bunch of other stuff, I also found the salesman’s boss and told him I thought his guy was an incredible salesman who knew his job really well.
No kids, courtesy is not common, not by a damn sight. It seems to be that this world would be a much better place to be if we all tried a little bit harder to treat everyone else a little better. Sometimes it’s difficult, but in the end it’s worth it. It’s really hard to be nice to people that you really don’t like, but most of the time I think it’s worth the investment. I sometimes struggle with this, especially with those who I have no use for, but it’s one of those things I at least try to work on.
For some reason, these two phrases kind of registered in my brain today, and gave my noggin something to chew on when it wasn’t occupied with work and the other stuff going on in my head. It’s as if my psyche was telling me “forget about the work and your troubles for a few moments, and think about this”. Sort of a mini vacation for the brain, letting the intellectual side focus on something different.
Weird how the brain works – at least how mine’s been working lately. And with that said, being that I’m a public service kinda guy, here’s a phrase that you your own self can chew on for a while. I saw it as graffiti painted on a wall today, and it literally stopped me in my tracks.
“We’re All Fucked Up. Some of Us Just Manage It Better Than Others”
Let your gray matter deal with that for a few moments today.
No comments:
Post a Comment