“The Etiquette Blog” has been published every Thursday for the past 300 consecutive weeks! I began writing this blog to engage fellow life-travelers who are exploring the open question of what it means to be “recognizably respectful” by “being etiquette-ful” throughout all situations involving others.
Each of the 300 blog articles are discoveries in ways, methods, subjects, nuances of interacting with others and navigating daily life. While there are etiquette guidelines for doing certain things, we are given autonomy when putting them into practice with the considerations of respect and kindness.
UPDATE: As of August 2024, Candace Smith Etiquette has 500+ blog articles posted to help us all live more etiquette-ful lives. Thank you for your readership!
Many of my weekly articles arise from your submitted questions or comments regarding social, professional, and personal life. From how to start a conversation to navigating a five-course meal, there is never a shortage of subject matter when it comes to the purpose and practice of etiquette.
Society’s social fabric is ultimately created by the aggregate of individuals choosing how best to get along with one another peaceably. If there is one general rule of etiquette, it is the ethical Golden Rule of doing unto others as you would that others should do unto you.
When mindfulness and intentionality are taken on as life goals, the actions of kindness and courtesy satisfy and reward us, giving us a sense that we are helping to make the world a better place.
Etiquette can be a reliable personal coach every time we communicate with another person or group of people. If you’ve read my story, you know this is the reason I became an Etiquette Educator – to learn how best to put into practice these most important life skills.
It’s thrilling to find out that the blog articles are serving as discussion points in readers’ lives, both socially and professionally. I imagine thousands of conversations occurring inwardly and with others exploring what it means to live with the common good in mind, each of us yearning to live our own distinctly purposeful lives.
Challenges consistently arise as we navigate this world we share with other individuals who, along with us, have their own interests and temperamental idiosyncrasies. These questions test our sociality:
Seeking to engage these questions places us on the mindful path of treating other people with the courtesy and kindness we all hope for. In a world of individuals, where one size does not fit all, it is impossible to please everyone. But if you can make people feel heard, acknowledged, and respected, you’re over halfway there.
Polished behavior is just a crust if character isn’t the substance. While etiquette is only a tool in helping you become the person you may want to be, it is an internal and external civilizing force.
“The rewards of etiquette are both spiritual and material. That fine poise of soul which restrains all selfish and unlovely tendencies, that clear insight which sees the individual as but a single unit in the composite of the human race, that high aspiration which culls only the best from the mingled elements of life,—all these come from a true and sincere adherence to the spirit of courteous observances, and each of these is its own reward.”
From “The Etiquette of To-Day”
Edith Ordway, 1913
Thank you, dear readers, for your questions, comments, suggestions, and encouragement. I began Candace Smith Etiquette in hopes that “it may be an instrument of peace in helping and serving others.” You remind me every day of this goal and I am very grateful for your readership and participation.
Here’s to our collective and continued efforts to cultivate civility!