Last year I ran a successful year-long program called Powered by Hope. The intent of the program is to help you follow your creative dreams by powering your spirit with hope! I am glad the program was so well received. This year, in addition to new posts, I will also be sharing a few of the best posts from the program. From now until the end of 2015, you will receive a minimum of two posts a month focused on hope. I hope you will enjoy them and that they will inspire you to follow your dreams!

BE GRACIOUS

“Oh, this has high-fructose corn syrup in it, I don’t think I can eat this.” remarked a business associate when I presented her with some beautifully packaged home-made peanut brittle that I had purchased from a woman who had just started her own brittle-making business. At first, I was taken aback by the reaction. But then I was just annoyed—it was a gift. She could have taken it, said thank you and then thrown it in the trash when I left; that would have been gracious. But no, she made a point to turn the package around, read the ingredients list on the back and then scrunch her face and make a rude remark. (And no, she is not allergic to corn syrup.)

Webster’s defines graciousness as being good and courteous, and to a point I agree but I think there is so much more to it. Graciousness brings with it a certain polish, a charm that touches us. Gracious people are not just polite and kind—their share an attitude that spreads abundance of a positive spirit. Let me give you an example (or two).

When I lived in Cleveland, Ohio, several years ago, my husband and some friends and I went to a restaurant downtown for dinner. As we were waiting to enter the restaurant, it began to thunder, and rain looked imminent. A kind, tall and very handsome gentleman who was ahead of us in line to get in stopped, opened the door and held it for all of us to go in first, and said, “Please, come on in.” We smiled at him and entered. It was kind, you say? Polite? The man holding the door was a superstar, a renowned basketball player. We had no idea who he was until he entered the restaurant and heads turned.

Which brings me to my second example—I grew up in the Middle East, one of the most hospitable places in the world. I must have been about 16 when my parents, my sister and I were invited to a dinner at a friend’s home on a Thursday night. So we showed up at seven with hostess gift in hand. “I don’t see too many cars outside,” my dad commented, “I guess it is a small gathering.” When the hostess opened the door, wearing sweats, we knew instantly we had made a mistake in the date. Totally embarrassed, my ever-polite and gentle father said, “I am so very sorry, we thought the dinner was tonight.” To which the hostess smiled and said, “It is now. We are blessed that you have been sent our way this day. Come in and we will celebrate being together and eat whatever I can get out of the fridge.” It was one of the best evenings of our lives. Her graciousness touched me in so many ways—if her reaction had been merely polite, it could have made us feel like fools. As we were getting ready to leave, she thanked my mother warmly for the flowers we had brought. “You don’t need to bring a gift when you come, just your friendship is gift enough,” she said.

I end with these words that someone wrote in my memory book in high school. I don’t know if he is the original author of these lines or if he “borrowed “ them from somewhere. So with all due respect to the author of these lines, here you go: “Be a gracious person, for graciousness is a charm, that no friend can ever borrow and no foe can ever harm.”

The post Be Gracious appeared first on Monica Bhide | Recipes, Stories, Inspiration.