Gratitude is a Two Way Street

We recently attended the dedication for the Paper & Book Arts Building at the John C. Campbell School. The staff and resident artists gave us a tour and demonstrated on some of the equipment in this fabulous facility. Here you see a print being turned into cards right before our eyes. What I enjoyed was that of all the images they could pull a print for, they chose gratitude. Granted gratitude was the theme of the day, and it was not lost on us that they infused a sense of thanks and appreciation in everything that happened. They thanked us for our financial support and we thanked them for their passion and tireless efforts to keep creativity alive in the mountains of Western North Carolina. 

Sometimes we forget that gratitude is a two way street. We have to know when to be thankful AND when we need to receive thanks from others. So many times we expend our efforts and hear thanks or receive a handshake of appreciation, yet find it hard to absorb the gratitude we have helped to create. Never take it lightly when people say thank you; it is a powerful phrase. It means we made a difference and our efforts have not gone unnoticed. It means someone wants to recognize us and appreciate how we have had an impact. 

I have often heard things like: Well, I was just doing it as part of my job, I don’t need to be recognized. I didn’t mind doing it, it was fun, so no need to thank me. I was told waht to do, so no need to thank me. I got paid to do it, so whay thank me? I once even heard someone say that being thanked made them feel like the hired help. I don’t know if that was because of how it was said, or how they felt about what they were being thanked for doing? There is great power in recognizing people’s efforts and it opens portals to kindness and enthusiasm. No one who puts in the effort wants it to go unnoticed, even if it is only recognized in private. 

I am also shocked at people who do not say thank you. I have been with people in restaurants and programs who never say thank you. Maybe they think it is beneath them, or belittles the person they might thank? Maybe they see no need to thank someone who is simply doing their job? Maybe they have not received thanks or recognition in the way they needed, so they are unable to provide it for others? Being able to be thankful, to have an attitude of gratitude is a key element to having solid interpersonal relationships. Knowing how people want to be thanked is just as important as saying it. 

As you live your today, be thankful and share it. Those two simple words can open a path of communication to an entirely new level. All you have to do is say thank you.