Where has all the goodwill gone?

I have been meaning to write this for a while now. Every time something or the other would come up and hence the delay. But today, at the cafeteria, while having lunch (alone ) and being on the receiving end for the umpteenth time ( read on for the details), I decided – This is it!!

I am not sure, if these things need to be taught at school/home or a person is just born with it. Well I am talking about things like:

• Greeting colleagues with a smile ( not with a stare/glare which I find is the usual case).
•  Respecting personal space: This also includes a person’s physical space because I find people bumping into each other/ pushing at cafeteria or any slightly crowded place. These are the times when I fail to understand the difference between humans and animals!
•  To continue with the animalistic behavior, I find shutting the door on someone’s face while entering your respective work place a very “in” thing these days. Keeping the door open for the person following you, doesn’t cost a thing, or does it?
•  Like I said earlier, in the cafeteria today, I was having lunch alone in a 4-seater table ( there aren’t any single seater ones) and in a minute’s time the other 3 chairs at the table disappear. All this because people assumed, that no one would be joining me for lunch and hence no one bothered to even ask if it is ok to take the chair. Very indecent!
• A library is a place where maintaining silence is of utmost priority. This is something which one knows since school. But I feel sometimes, my office mates somehow managed to skip school and college and directly landed here. Miraculous isn’t it??

In our personal lives….

•  How many times have we thanked the shop keeper after making a purchase? If you by any chance think you don’t have to thank anyone since you are paying, then God help.
• I have seen people forgetting to thank passersby after taking directions.

To tell you how negative the world around us has become, let me narrate to you something that happened just the other day.My husband and I had gone to a crowded market place and the only parking space available was blocked by a two wheeler. The owner of the two wheeler was sitting on his bike and apparently waiting for someone. Suvi gestured at him to move his bike a little to make way for our car, which the blessed soul actually did. After conveniently parking our car when the two of us walked up to the dude and thanked him he looked shocked for a whole minute and then finally broke into a wide grin.  I think he was initially expecting us to shout at him or something. Can you imagine??!

Ahh……there is more to this madness but I am sure you’ve got the picture by now. I am really not sure where the problem lies. Don’t we have the time or is it the inclination that is missing? Look at the bigger picture, if you cant make the person next to you happy then forget about elevating the poor and the downtrodden!