Sincerity . . . forever

A genuine smile . . . a firm handshake . . . and sincere compliments. Hopefully, these personal qualities will forever be appreciated. With more and more of our waking hours being occupied in front of the computer, television or behind the wheel, I'm afraid we are gradually disconnecting with quality day-to-day human contact.

Letter writing has, virtually, become a thing of the past. Can you remember the joyous swell of emotion when you would receive a hand-written letter from a friend or loved one? You knew the writer took the time to think about you and you alone. They composed their thoughts and shared them with someone special . . . . you. These days we have email and text messaging. For business and/or emergencies, this electronic wizardry can be lifesaving. But there is a, very negative, flip side to this. Our kids are now reverting to a cryptic shorthand and abbreviations in order to say more with less words. I foresee, in the future, our kids having a tougher time with vocabulary, spelling and sentence composition. Surveys have shown our kids continue to lose ground, educationally, compared to youngsters around the world.

Whenever possible, talk to and really listen to others. Every day, you have ample opportunities to share your most genuine smile . . . a good firm handshake and extend sincere compliments. Enjoy the mutual benefit from extending yourself to others. Quality human contact must live forever.