Say thank you – often and always

Sherri T.

Many of us will be gathering with family and friends today to say thanks and be grateful for what we have.

Like many holidays, the true meaning of Thanksgiving has become somewhat altered. Some people use the opportunity of a long weekend to take a short trip. Many companies “thank” their customers by offering incentives for them to spend more money. For some, this day has come to mean bye bye or buy buy.

Others don’t wait for the once-a-year mark to express appreciation of their family and friends. One of the early WOOM blogs highlighted the wisdom of Alice, mother of my friend Maureen. Alice advised her children to celebrate everything. She not only spoke these wise words. She lived them as well.

Every holiday came with its own unique decorations, costumes, food and drink. And drink.

But for Alice, special days represented something more. Time to share love. Time to pause and think about the important things in life. And at the end of the day, what and who really matter.

There are others who apply the value of special holidays to every single day. Or at least every single week.

Each Friday, the family of a very special niece and nephew gathers around the dinner table. Prior to dinner, every family member has an opportunity to identify one thing for which they are grateful that week.

Turns out, there is a growing volume of literature on the value of an attitude of gratitude. It is consistently associated with greater happiness.  Research has shown that gratitude helps in creating positive emotions, building loving relationships, facing adversity and improving overall health.

While my mother understood the value of gratitude, she did not practise it as a formal philosophy or in any structured way.

She taught us to say thank you – often and always.

She instructed us to “do the right thing by people” (we had to learn over time what that meant).

 She continually reminded us: “If you don’t have anything nice to say about somebody, don’t say it.” 

Her expressions of gratitude were always very simple and straightforward. For that, I am eternally grateful – and I say thanks.