Last update: 17 March, 2015
"What do they say?"
It is one of the phrases that we all probably heard repeated more than once in childhood and, of course, we had to answer: "Thank you!". At first we did not understand the meaning of this word well, and we only said it to please our parents. In this way, we got the recognition and approval of someone we wanted to make happy, regardless of the reason for thanks.
The value of a word
Little by little, giving thanks has become an automatism that we often use in daily life, and which at times ends up losing much of the profound meaning it should have. This is why it is good to stop and reflect on the meaning and potential of this simple and wonderful word every now and then.
When we say thank you to a person, we are telling them that we recognize their value and that we feel grateful for the time he has dedicated to us. In just six letters, we are telling her that she did something right, and that we are indebted to her. We acknowledge her effort and show her that she has gained some more of our trust. We are showing her our gratitude, appreciation and affection.
In saying thank you to someone, we are expressing to them that we are happy to have crossed paths with them in our life, even if only for a moment. We are simply saying something that is priceless, but which at the same time has infinite value.
A world full of "thanks"
When you give thanks, you are giving a gift and, like any gift, to give it the right value it is good to wrap it in a nice package. That's right: a "thank you" becomes even more beautiful if it is accompanied by a smile, a moment of pause and one welcoming look. If you do, it will be much easier for the recipient of your thank you to hear and understand what it means.
A world full of graces is a world full of favors and human contacts. It's the world we all want for the people we love. This, after all, is the real reason why we strive to teach children to give thanks. And this very profound reason is probably the most important.
Image courtesy of marcosdemadariaga
