How do you express your gratitude?

As human beings, we love to be appreciated or praised. Having words like thank you, kindness, shukriya, thank you in our lives is not a mere formality like expressing gratitude at the end of a function. Saying thank you makes us a little humble. Being grateful makes us more human. Gratitude makes us a little more fluid. Saying ‘thank you’ to someone openly not only makes you a happier person, but it can make you a much healthier and more energetic person too.

When I say ‘thank you’ to someone face to face, I do so with a smile and by making eye contact with the person I am thanking. This is because these small gestures add to the sincerity of the spoken ‘thank you’. There are many situations where just saying ‘thank you’ to someone face to face is not enough, like inviting me to dinner, giving me a gift, etc. When such situations arise, a written ‘thank you’ is more effective. A blank card works well for such situations, on which I can write my feelings. Because whoever has treated me so well and extra special, deserves something extra special in return, and a written ‘thank you’ note or card is the best way to express gratitude for the good deed done by them.

There are so many characters in our life, so many people we meet in a day, whose presence in our life brings meaning, ease, happiness, but even after knowing their importance, we fall short in expressing our gratitude for their presence. Sometimes in hesitation, sometimes in the belief that we will say it later. And if unfortunately we do not get a chance to express our gratitude, then the pain of being ungrateful comes with us. The answer to considering ourselves powerful is that our mind should be filled with gratitude towards nature. For the air due to which we are able to breathe. For the water which quenches our thirst every time. For the fire which cooks our food. For the sky which is the limit of our expansion. For the earth which is the basis of our existence. We should be grateful. For everything that we have got. For everything that provides facilities in our life.  For every person whose presence makes our life easier. For every moment whose presence makes our existence meaningful. We are taught from childhood to be grateful. Spirituality also shows the same path which is the formula for stress-free life management. We are repeatedly told to express gratitude while sleeping that today was a good day. Wake up the next day with gratitude that we have got another day. But we are perhaps the most miserly in expressing gratitude. We are rarely grateful to nature. Those who bow their heads while making a wish at the temple often forget to express gratitude. There are many such characters in our life who silently make our life bloom, we forget to be grateful to them.Expressing gratitude is the test of a human being. And we should live up to it