The art of the handwritten Thank You!

In this day and age we do almost everything quick and expect things quickly in return. I think the less we think about things the less we enjoy them. I have been immersing myself in learning about gratitude, meditation, and contentment for some time now ( I actually think I used the pregnancy of my first darling to let go of some hurts, or at least try and move forward to be the person I’d want my child to have as a mentor in life.) Expressing gratitude and being thankful for the things you do have has been well documented to increase happiness in people lives ( I’ll find some good examples to link to if you’re so inclined- and if you haven’t started a gratitude journal I highly recommend it!). This morning was a particularly rough one at work and about an hour into it a mom stopped in with coffee! Who doesn’t love coffee? ( ok who is a teacher that doesn’t love coffee- it’s a pretty safe bet!) She had bought extra coffee that morning because of a deal at the local coffee shop (not knowing who she was gonna share with! Just spreading the love! And caffeine) Of course my eyes lit up, a grateful smile appeared ( I’m guessing, it could have looked a little scary at that point-I mentioned it was a rough start to the day) and I said “oh my gosh! Thank you so much!” And I drank my coffee joyfully! In the everyday, we can be thankful AND what a joy to be able to share that with our fellow humans. Now I definitely said thank you and was a gracious recipient for the lovely blessing of caffeine when I least expected it AND I think I will write a handwritten thank you to this lovely mom who bought coffee, not even knowing it was for me, hand delivered it to me with a smile and honestly made my day! Why the hand written note? Well, writing down what you are grateful for is a therapeutic exercise in and of it self....why not share that I’m grateful with the person I’m grateful for? I’m strengthening relationships, sharing joy, free self -therapy ( doubles as art therapy if I draw something cute!) Why not try it? Take the time to hand write a thank you note this week! Neighbor took care of your animals? Someone at work that always has a smile or encouraging word? Friend that stopped by with wine just to say hi? I even made two cards so I have one handy next time!
                                                                                                        -Lo 

*** You definately are so good about this! I love the ones you do with a picture of what has happened or what was given in the Thank you! I love your heart. Love, Ro


Links:

https://ggia.berkeley.edu/practice/gratitude_journal#data-tab-evidence

https://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/in-praise-of-gratitude