As relationships are at the heart of what I do, I love watching others relate to each other, how they open themselves up, how they are listened to, or not, where their attention is focussed, and so on, but above all where are they making a difference.
Today I observed a real moment of joy, for both the giver and the receiver. The receiver was collecting for a well-known charity, the giver was willing to give some money. What the giver added was to thank the person for collecting on behalf of the charity and secondly to say that they were appreciated.
The look on the face of the collector was priceless, I am not sure what else she could have been given that would have given her a bigger smile.
Her response…she looked the giver in the eye, touched her heart with her hand, smiled brightly and said thank you.
When did you last say thank you or that you appreciated someone for what they were doing?
COLIN – THANK YOU MOST KINDLY for reminding us of the power of these two meaningful words.
There’s no truer form of acceptance than saying “thank you.”
Being thankful—and truly meaning it—becomes a shift in energy that attracts new and exciting things into our lives because it signals that we’re ready to receive them. Gratitude opens up little doors in our heart that we have previously kept locked. And when these little doors unlock and open, it’s possible for us to pick and choose our own adventure. It’s possible to start over. It’s possible to pursue any direction our heart can imagine.
“Thank you” is the key to unlocking our true potential. All we have to do is recognize that we’ve had the power within us all the time.
Kindness can be a very simple act that sends ripples across the universe.
Thank you Larry for sharing. I agree, in fact, I was talking to someone this morning about this, in a coffee shop. If I am kind to the Barista, smile, say please and thank you, appreciate the quality of their coffee-making skills, they are happy, (this is rare for them by the way, most people do not even acknowledge them), they will be happier to the next person they speak to…also, anyone nearby who hears it, feels the same feeling the Barista is feeling, mirror neurons and all that, so they feel better, and in turn they will be kinder to their next person and so on. One person can make a big impact. Colin
Saying thank you should be (the keywords here are should be) automatic. You can point to any number of reasons why the above is not so with all of them being right.
Thank you Joel, for your thoughts. I agree it should be automatic…it was one of the key skills my parents taught me, please and thank you. In this frantic, disconnected, always doing something world, is this still true today. I was also taught my tables by rote, on a daily basis…for another day, eh!
My parents taught me the same things. It is virtually automatic for me to say those words. If I just see a Police Officer I will stop to tell just to thank him for keeping the city safe. That is just me but I hope others will follow if they hear me enough.
Nice one Joel. We can’t appreciate another enough. At a deep level, we all want to be appreciated, to be valued and to feel that we matter. Only this morning I walked past a window cleaner, seemingly a perfectionist, as he was using a sharp blade to remove paint spots and bird droppings from the glass, as part of his cleaning. In doing so, he gave me a master class in window cleaning, how a professional cleans windows and the tools he uses. I feel it also made his day better as I had noticed. Likewise, I hope it spreads too.
I also try to hold a door for the person behind me when exiting a store even if they do not say thank you. At least I know I did the right thing.
…and to clear up our own mess. Absolutely Joel, thank you.
I am a stickler for making sure my garbage winds up a trash can while outside even if the New York City Sanitation Department does not empty them as regularly as they should. I pick up garbage that is deposited by our door. This is also my way of doing the right thing for the environment.
Always seek to do the right thing, easy to say, harder to put into practice.
If you have done this and do this on a regular basis it becomes second nature. Thank you, Colin, for your article which raises completely valid points while asking a very valid question.
Thank you Joel, I appreciate the dialogue.
Me as well
Thank you for this beautiful reminder to be grateful every single day for our lives, for the people we encounter, for the beauty of nature, for opportunities to be of love and service, Colin! Gratitude fills my soul as I know not to take anything for granted, to not sweat the small stuff-in fact, to appreciate the small stuff-even the gliches, challenges, curve balls of life because these all mean that I’m ALIVE to experience them! What a gift each moment of our lives truly is! As Albert Einstein stated it: “There are only two ways to live your life. Live as though nothing is a miracle or live as though everything is a miracle.” That second pathway flows with gratitude. Beautiful post!
Thank you Laura, I agree, so much to be grateful for each day. Like your thoughts of appreciating the small stuff as it all means you are alive. I can resonate with that. We hear, often, how people want to have a peaceful life with no twist and turns or humpbacks, but looking at that, would feel it would be pretty dull. Others talk about being ordinary, which I take as being average, and who wants to be average! Yes, everything, and I would add, everyone is a miracle. Colin
Beautiful, Colin! And I love your addition of everyone is a miracle too. Yes, indeed!
Thank you Laura, most kind of you to say so.
Thank you for this Colin. There exists a simple Universal Law that stipulates, “the more one expresses gratitude, the more one will be given for which to be grateful.” I don’t believe expressing gratitude or simply saying thank you is out of date as much as it is out of practice. Too many take most things for granted as if they are somehow entitled. While I do believe we are all entitled to the goodness of life as a result of being on this gorgeous planet, it is the sense of entitlement expressed as if one is better than another with which I take issue.
Be grateful for all you have, all you are and the unlimited potential that resides in each one of us to experience all we desire. I am grateful to you Colin for bringing this important topic to light. I will conclude with a simple, “Thank you.”
Thank you Jim. I agree with you that, “Thank you” is out of practice. What I would add to what you have said are two things. One, what is my intention in saying thank you. The second, what is my state when I am saying thank you.
My intention needs to come from a place of appreciation for what I have just received, be that a gift, a compliment, or an action such a someone giving way. If it is appreciated by me, the receiver of my thank you will hear and feel it differently to if I am just saying thank you.
My state is being fully present to the person giving me something when I say thank you. Again the receiver will hear and feel the difference.
So the more we are present, the more we appreciate, the more deeply felt our “thank you” will be.
Colin
Thank you Colin for bringing clarity to my post. When I suggest anyone expresses gratitude it is always to be heart-felt and Soul driven, otherwise it is just words that float off into the nothingness from which they arose. Jim
Thank you Jim, love your metaphor of floating off into the nothingness from which they arose. Exactly. Colin
Perfect Colin. Thank giving by heart and conscious , gives satisfaction to both giver and receiver. Thanks for thanks post . A veteran of Indian Navy.
So true. As a veteran of the Indian Navy, you will know first hand the impact of ‘thank you’ as well as being kind, thoughtful and caring for each other. We need to know someone or many someones have our back, just as they will know we have theirs. In close proximity, all of our strengths and weaknesses are on show and a thank you and acts of appreciation make a huge difference to the overall well being of the team. Thank you for your contribution.
I love this, Colin! We can all find sources of gratitude even on the darkest days! Thank you for this reminder that those two little words – thank you – can give meaning to even the seemingly simplest acts.
Thank you Melissa, I appreciate your reply. What you say feels spot on…even on our darkest day, doing so can lift us up at that moment too. Colin
Every day in every way, Colin! I even wrote a post a while back entitled “Every Day Should be Gratiday!
“https://grammargoddess.com/every-day-should-be-gratiday/
I’ve always known I was lucky, being created by two folks I’ve never known, adopted by two others who loved and cared for me, and always having enough of what I needed (although that knowledge came as I got old enough to figure it out), etc.
And every day that I get up, see the sun (or the clouds), drink my coffee, play with my small dogs, meet amazing people on line and in person, realize I’m still alive and healthy … I’m grateful to whoever is organizing my life!
And among the most wonderful words surely are “thank you,” which don’t get said nearly often enough.
So thank you for your post, Colin! Let’s hope it inspires others to thank at least one person Every. Single. Day.
And THANK YOU for adding value to Colin’s Article, Susan …
How lovely Susan, to feel that way every day. When we step out and look around, there is so, so much to be grateful for, to appreciate and to offer our thanks. There is something, hey many things, about this life we have now, this moment, unfolding in front of us. Feels like quite a journey you have been on, and for you to be able to look back on it and say thank you, tells me lots about you and how you make sense of the world. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Susan and for being you.