Gratitude is one of those things that we don’t consciously think about until we choose to do so. I know that was the case for me. I remember always saying “Thank you” when I received something from someone whether it was tangible or intangible. I believe that was an automatic reflex from my upbringing as I’m sure many of you experienced.
Thanking someone for something they said or did for you is similar in my mind, but not quite the same as gratitude. Okay so I’m going to pull out my Webster’s Dictionary; to check out my thinking:
Thanks: An expression of appreciation. Used to express gratefulness.
Gratitude: The state of being grateful: thankfulness.
Okay so perhaps they are cousins.
To me they are very different. Saying thank you is about honoring someone verbally who did or said something to you that you appreciate. Gratitude is something you feel inside. Maybe it is a two-step process of saying you are thankful or grateful, and then feeling that you are filled with gratitude. Hmmm.
Once you get on the Gratitude band wagon, it is just plain tough to get off!
There is just something about how it makes you feel when you have that feeling of gratitude wash over you and then the emotion circulate throughout your body that just screams that this is the right thing to do for yourself and for the reason you are grateful.
I am going to make a Gratitude File for myself as soon as I finish this. On those days that there does not seem to be much to have gratitude, I will pull out my new Gratitude File and find one thing that I can be grateful! How about you?
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