After roaming through the mall tonight, and observing mankind exhibiting less than admirable behavior during a high-stress time (Ho, Ho, Ho? ) and not being terribly impressed with said behavior, I'd like to offer up some thoughts based on the philosophy of "Pay it Forward".

The concept is simple......simple acts of unexpected and unneccessary kindness; to complete strangers, to friends, to family.

My parents raised me to be a mindful, respectful and polite person. My mother is a genteel soul. I can't recall a single time when she raised her voice above a normal speaking tone (except for that one time when my sisters and I accidentally set the garage on fire, but that's another story for another time. I blame my sisters, they're older and I was impressionable and easily led :)). We were taught to say "thank you" and "please" and "pardon me". I can remember being grounded for behaving rudely. Where has the gentility gone in this world? Where have good manners gone?

Rather than bemoan the lost art of civility, I think I'd rather focus my time and attention on being a better person and "paying it forward" when the opportunity arises.

I had a moment in CVS tonight which demonstrates how simple it can be to walk with dignity and decency. I was standing in a fairly long line of customers waiting for my turn at the register, and an elderly gentleman a few customers in front of me stepped out of line to get a pack of gum...in a moment the line "closed" and as he turned around to step back in line he realized that his place had been lost. I watched him walk back to the end of the line, and thought to myself....Nope, I refuse to join the selfish mindlessness...so when my turn came up to cash out, I turned around and told him to go ahead of me. He hesitated for a minute, then smiled and took my place...and I don't care if I lost a popularity contest with the other customers or not,it was the right thing to do. Right before he walked out of the store,he touched my sleeve and said "Have a nice Christmas, and thank you". I smiled to myself all the way back to my car. And yes, it does feel that good doing something nice for someone else.

Hold a door open for someone struggling to juggle a stroller.... let someone cut in front of you in traffic....smile and say "thank you" , and mean it...... pay the toll for the car behind you, just for the hell of it...donate your time or money to a charity......be mindful that someone else is struggling harder than you are, and may have less to be thankful for than you do, and pay it forward all the time, not just at Christmas.

This Christmas and all year round, I'm grateful for my family, my friends, my job, my health and my life. Pay it forward--every day.