thoughtful thursdays: civility.

i like to write these thoughtful posts when i'm feeling, um, thoughtful.  like today.  

you know how sometimes there's a quote, a phrase, a line, or even a single word that keeps with you long after you've read or heard it?   i have that going on right now.  over the weekend, i was in the lovely stationery shop greer here in chicago, picking up a birthday card for my mom, and i saw it:

civility is not a sign of weakness.

it's actually a motto of sorts for the shop, and i think it's fabulous.  i may even have to adopt it for my own.

i strive to be as civil as i can in my daily life.  sometimes i fall short - i have my grouchy moments for sure - but i very much try.  i say lots of pleases and thank yous.  i say hello to the bus driver.  i keep my composure (at least outwardly) even on impossibly long lines at the daley center (the cook county courthouse, for those not in chicago!).

i tend to be a kill them with kindness type when it comes to strangers, coworkers, or anyone else encountered in the greater world.  but sometimes, the uncivilized nature of others starts to wear on me.  an ill-timed rude comment or response, and i start to wonder why i feel the need to try so hard when others around me are not.   you start to think that acting civil is actually working against you.  

and that's when i must remember this quote.  you don't have to be the a-hole or the one taking the hard line to succeed.  you don't need to be a push-over (the flip side of this issue), but you can be civil, you can be rational, you can give a little, meet halfway, compromise.  it's something to strive for, not something to be looked down upon. 

and it is not a weakness.  

xo. di.   

p.s.  do you like the images i chose to compliment this post?  apparently to me civility involves coffee or tea, a perfectly put-together ensemble, and something to read.  interesting... 

 

*images 1, 2, 3, 4