A Handwritten Thank You, verbal gratitude or online review may hold magical powers.
“Thankfulness is the beginning of gratitude. Gratitude is the completion of thankfulness. Thankfulness may consist merely of words. Gratitude is shown in acts.” — Henri Frederic Amiel
Exceptional People
Sometimes I board dogs taking care of pet canines while their pack leaders work or travel. It’s a fun way to unwind after a long tip out in the field.
Not all of the clients leave feedback, in fact, it’s only about 15%, 49 people have left thank you reviews for one service I offer, here’s one.
Wow! Wow! Wow! Cannot express how great Chris is. He watched my dog, Tessa, for a week during the holidays. I was at first a little worried to leave her with someone, but once I met him that all went away. Tessa instantly liked Chris and all my worries were put at ease. He answered all my questions I had and was very interested Tessa’s routine. You can tell that he loves dogs so much. He is such a kind, caring person that will take amazing care of your dog. He kept me updated by sending me pictures of Tessa throughout the week. If Chris is available, you should definitely book with him. He will treat your dog like his own. — Nicole C.
The thank you completes the transaction leaving both participants feeling blessed.
One client sends me hand written thank you notes after each booking of her prize winning Irish Setter. These are so thoughtful they can’t help but have a profound effect on the psyche.
“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues but the parent of all others.” — Marcus Tullius Cicero
Making Time to be Great
For me, it can be so easy to demand things occur the way I want. Of course, my brain tells me that’s how they should already be.
I’m currently in a hotel room and incurred the extra expense to stay in a 4 star hotel hoping to be more comfortable. After many days on the road, I was depleted and ready for quality rest.
Upon awaking I took the time to go visit the continental breakfast. One of the reasons I choose this hotel was the advertised “HOT” breakfast with eggs and meat. My diet calls for protein instead of processed foods full of carbs and sugar.
Upon opening the chafing dishes on the breakfast buffet line, I am presented with nothing, the trays are empty. Looking around I see there is no fruit either, disappointing I just go for a cup of coffee and find that the milk container is empty. Which means no one can have any cereal from the large 4 bin dispenser that has multiple varieties.
It’s well before 9:00 and the 10:00 AM finish. I decide to walk over to the desk and ask for some help. Once there, I find a young woman who appears to be asleep but is looking at the screen on her phone. As I speak, she slowly looks up as if she indeed was asleep. When I ask about refilling the milk she yawns before giving me a long explanation about the person who called in sick this morning.
My reply, “If you would get off your phone maybe you could come out here and help.” To which she begins more useless talking explaining they are out of milk.
“Gratitude is a powerful catalyst for happiness. It’s the spark that lights a fire of joy in your soul.” — Amy Collette
Road Blocks to Gratitude
On the walk back to my room I feel disgust, depleted and frankly, like a jerk. Displaying and feeling a lack of gratitude leaves me feeling heavy, lethargic and full of remorse.
Rarely does dis-satisfaction and criticism leave anyone else feeling enlivened or inspired either.
The night had been rough, as a traveling high school baseball team was placed in the room next door with a passage inside leading into my room. Their loud voices came right thru that door interrupting my much needed sleep.
Getting thru that, other elements I liked were present so I extended the room online for another day despite the irritants. I will be gone before the breakfast tomorrow and the room is comfortable with decent internet access.
So, just now, a knock comes to the door. It was the hotel manager, not knowing I had extended online, I told him I had already paid, he said, “we’ll take care of it.”
I saw the opportunity to absolve myself from the earlier assholedness and thanked him for the lovely hotel, “very beautiful” I exclaimed. And immediately felt better, but that was before the call bothering me again after just getting sat back down.
It was a girl this time, from the desk, asking the same question the manager had just asked me. Informing her that the manager had just been here telling me he would handle it. She said OK, I hung up.
Then I put on some classical music, ready to finally do some writing, I sat down and the phone rang again.
It’s the manager re-saying all the same things we had all already said.
Asshole me showed up again, telling him I came here to rest and would prefer not to be bothered three times for an issue that is not requiring anything of me at this time. He went on to say I just needed to be checked out and checked back in again. I promised him I’d drop by the desk the next time I came out of the room. “Is there anything you need from me at this time” I said forcefully.
“No” he responded.
And there I was again, feeling depleted, and absolutely no gratitude. WTF?
Make it a habit to tell people thank you. To express your appreciation, sincerely and without the expectation of anything in return. Truly appreciate those around you, and you’ll soon find many others around you. Truly appreciate life, and you’ll find that you have more of it. — Ralph Marston
Feeling A Part Of
Quickly, I went back out for a cup of coffee dropping by the desk to apologize. The woman who had been there before, someone’s daughter who really wanted to be anywhere else now lit up with a wonderful smile.
She said something about the milk again and a man mopping the floor heard us, mumbling something he headed to check the refrigerator. He came out shaking his head and put the mop down. “I’m going to get some milk sir,” he replied. Come back in 10 minutes and you can have cereal, this is unacceptable.
Thanking him, I said it was not necessary, knowing I had zero sugar protein bars in my bag. Going on, I complimented the renovation they must have recently done, mentioning more I was thankful for, like the nice colors and high ceilings.
We fist bumped and I returned here to the writing desk in my room.
Reaching into my suitcase, I retrieved a note card from the assortment I make it a habit to carry. As I write a thank you note to the hotel for the beautiful accommodations, another knock comes to the door.
“Now what” comes right out of my too eager to be an asshole mouth. A laugh comes from the other side, “it’s a good thing” I hear someone say. Curious, I get up to answer, It’s Joe, the guy who had the mop. He has both skim and regular milk in his hand offering me my choice. “Skim” I say as we both laugh. “Anything else you need, just let me know” he says.
“Thank you Joe, keep making a difference in the world, it looks good on you!”
I said, before closing the door. He smiled large.
If I can put messages like this in writing, their power will be increased exponentially lifting others above the ordinary, while enriching my own well being in the process.
Did you know, this can be done on the Medium application? Ask me how!
All is right in the world again, thank you God!
See you next time, Cheers
© Christopher Boswell 2019. All Rights Reserved.
I hope you found some value in this article, if you did please follow the links below for more of my recent work, maybe another will resonate. Until next time, Christopher
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When Christopher isn’t writing from wherever, he can be found traveling or capturing photographs somewhere in the United States. He may be generating Graphic Design, building a website, processing images or video, flying his Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, wrangling dogs, or backpacking and kayaking. He lives in Tacoma, WA. We invite you to learn more about Christopher at Real Window Creative on Patreon
