The magic word

Call me sensitive or even small-minded -neither of them bothers me- but to me, it's the magical please. Now, how can you say no to that? U uh, for the record, I'm not trying to encourage wrongful manipulation of good intentions here.

The sheer visual representation of the word alone evokes all sorts of wonderful feeling; not to mention hearing it in person, coupled with sincere, intense eye contact, the right body language and gestures, all just makes the favor even harder to resist. The effect, as we may all have experienced, was so powerful that even the most outrageous demands were OKed on a whim.

Years of unconscious and accidental observance has provided me with a curious insight of human nature. As Buddha once said, people are basically good-natured and willing to help those in need: 95% of the time people would say yes when asked for a favor nicely, if it is within their power to help and doesn't harm others. The rest of the time, either it's a bad day or they're too tired to listen.

Ok, ok, maybe that's just a theory, but at least there's some truth in that, yes? However we resent performing the favor, if we really care about the person, it's just a matter of making a few calls and running some errands, it can't be that bad, right? At the end of the day, when you land your head on the pillow, you should be able to say "I did something good today, and I'm proud of myself", however trivial it may seem. To give without asking anything in return, that is a virtue.