BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE

The other day I encountered a little five-year old girl on the street, a neighbour's child. She had her mother's compact and was looking in the little mirror, doing something with her hair. With the curiosity of age I asked her "What are you doing?" Without even looking at me she replied "I'm making myself beautiful."

The influence of TV no doubt. Persuading people to make themselves beautiful has become big business. Yet with all the skin fresheners, blemish removers, odor repellents and weight reducers that are heralded as the secret of the body beautiful, there is one beauty aid that is seldom, if ever, mentioned.

That is courtesy.

A person may have irregular features, a hooked nose, a wobbly gait or a hunched back, but if he or she is a courteous person who speaks with kindliness and treats people with thoughtfulness, they have an attractiveness about them that the rude Apollo or the impatient Diana fail to achieve.

Courtesy has been described as "obedience to the unenforceable". No one can demand it of you. No set of rules can be laid down that will produce the courteous person. It is an attitude toward people that grows out of respect for the feelings of others. It is expressed in politeness, in gentleness, in considerateness and in patience. The possessor of it is a beautiful person.

One picture is worth a thousand words. The picture that comes to my mind of the gracious, courteous person is Gertrude in the Donwood dining room. She waits on tables, but Gertrude somehow makes that humble occupation an act of graciousness and dignity. She speaks with unfailing courtesy. Somehow she remembers the needs, the tastes, the special diets and the peculiar whims of each one. Even her lighthearted banter never crosses the boundaries of impropriety. She is an outstanding therapist, for when she speaks to you, you know you matter. There is about her a deep respect for th feelings of others. And that is courtesy.

We learn at Donwood the importance of expressing our deep feelings. Side by side with that, and just as important, is the need to be sensitive to the feelings of others.

DR. GEORGE BIRTCH

DON SAYS; Why shouldn't we all aspire to be like Gertrude: she is a wonderful and warm human being. With more like her the world would be a kinder place. After reading this I am going to try to be better, and kinder to my fellow human beings.