DiDi's Rants - Common Courtesy…reality or urban legend….

Lately, I’ve been thinking urban legend. What happened to the days where men opened the door for you, or when was the last time you gave your seat on a crowded bus to the elderly or a woman with child. Now-a-days, those small acts of kindness are few and far between. It’s like this city is running ramped with people who act like they have never been breastfed.

But what’s the problem really T.O? Are we so in a rush that we forget to do one kind deed that might make someone smile? The answer is YES! I’m originally from a town where people aren’t moving so fast. So we tended to see those who sometimes get left behind. But Toronto has a different dynamic. Everything is faster paced so by the time we get to the bus we are too exhausted and may not notice the old lady with the can with no chair, or we notice but are too tired to get up. Or when we open the door, we dash right through paying no mind to the person behind us.

Now on the other side of the coin, common courtesy is also a personal choice. No one can enforce it, because in doing so, especially in public, you sort of are breaking that courtesy rule yourself. I heard a story of a friend who had just been berated by some loud mouth on the bus for not getting up for a woman and a child. Yet what that “Flapper Gap” didn’t know was that my friend did not see the lady and had she had the “common” decency to ask politely things may have ended different.

Lucky for us the solution is simple, be kind. Yes that’s it. Try to do one kind thing, or good deed, everyday. You’ll find that at the end of the day it’s kindness that makes you feel good.

That’s my Real Talk…Toronto