I've been thinking about being gracious since Friday morning. EARLY Friday morning. We went to the midnight showing of Harry Potter late Thursday night, and I've been thinking about it since the movie even started. I went to sleep with it on my mind. Here I am on a whole other day, and I'm still thinking about it.
I helped my Mom put on an AMAZING party. A lot of people helped actually. I'm glad they did too, because it's a lot of hard work putting together a event for almost 100 people. The party was fun, the giveaways were great, the movie was AWESOME! The people... well... the people were MOSTLY fun, great, and awesome. There were MOSTLY people there who are my best friends, lovely neighbors and such... but there were some that I doubt will ever be getting an invitation to anything from Gracious Rain again. (Ironic isn't it... that my Mom's blog is called GRACIOUS Rain.)
Much of the planet has forgotten how to be gracious. Maybe they never learned. It's probably not even "much" of the planet... it's just a small, outspoken, intense group of people that represent human beings poorly.
I haven't written a Senior thesis on the subject, I haven't done extensive research. I didn't put out any official surveys, but I have been talking to my family and even a few friends. Mostly though, I've just been thinking about it.
Gracious, by definition, is "pleasantly kind, benevolent, and courteous."
I will now tell you, in my opinion, how to be gracious.
When you are gracious, you are polite. When you go somewhere you are concerned about the other people around you. You pay attention to your surroundings, how you can make them better, or leave them the best way that you can. You listen. You follow instructions. When you are gracious you say simple words like 'please', 'thank you' and 'you're welcome' because you realize how much they can mean. Being gracious let's you radiate sincerity. When you are gracious people enjoy being around you because they feel important, appreciated and loved. When you are gracious you wait your turn and you share.
When you are gracious and you are given/win something you don't like/already have/couldn't imagine using/wish was something else... you accept it with a smile and say thank you. You can always re-gift it/sell it on Ebay/throw it away/FreeCycle it.
When you are gracious and you've been invited somewhere with friends and you meet/interact with/run into other friends or associates of the people you're originally with... you treat them like they're already friends and be polite/respectful/kind to them even though you don't actually know them yet.
When you are gracious and you don't like something that's happening but you aren't in control of it stopping it... you wait patiently for it to stop instead of complaining/getting grouchy/being rude/being mean/starting a fight and remind yourself that all things end eventually.
When you are gracious and you are in another person's home go ahead and try the food/treat they offer you/accept the chair they pull out for you/try or do something new.
Sometimes being gracious means just dealing with it. Sometimes being gracious means biting your tongue. Sometimes being gracious means standing up for someone else. Sometimes being gracious means gently explaining something to someone else so they calm down or don't put their foot in their mouth. Sometimes being gracious means doing or saying nothing.
Will you please, please join me in being more gracious.
The next time you go out somewhere, look around and see if you could clean up after yourself, even if there are people who are paid to do it for you. When you receive a gift, no matter what it is, or how much you love/hate it, will you please think of me and that person who is awesome enough to GIVE you something and smile and genuinely thank them. The next time something takes longer than you thought it would, the next time things don't go as planned, the next time someone you don't know is annoying you, the next time you just want to be rude...
Stop.
Think. Decide right now how you can be classy, pleasantly kind, benevolent, or courteous. Think about how YOU can be gracious.
I will too. Well, I will keep thinking about it.
Like I said, it's been on my mind.
5 comments:
Not only do you talk the talk, but you walk the walk! You are one of the most gracious people I know! (You must get that from your mother.) Thanks for the reminder!
I'm sorry to hear that anybody was rude. You guys were so nice to put in all that hard work and throw such a fun party. We loved it!
You are such a Gracious Amazing person. You may not know this but I look up to you so much and wish I could be more outgoing and kind like you are to everyone. You are truly inspirational.
I am sorry that others were not gracious to you. I can't imagine how anyone could be mean to you or your family you all exude love and kindness.
People are so shocking sometimes,
You are probably one of the most gracious people I know, so it's great to hear your advice on the topic. Sure love ya!!
Oh Lyndi! I didn't know you guys had a bad experience with the party. I am sooooo sorry. That really spoils it for wanting to do it again I bet. You are a genuine sweety and I always love being around you. You are the epitome of graciousness. You are oozing with graciousness and it's too bad that those who aren't, probably won't even read your great post. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this. It's definitely something we can all learn from.
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