“If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.”
– Meister Eckhart
***
More than a decade ago, I had the privilege of visiting my sister Elena and her family in Livingston, Montana. My stay lasted nearly a month, and when it was time for me to return to the Philippines, she drove me for over an hour to the airport in Bozeman.
After completing the check-in process, we enjoyed a delightful lunch together. We shared a few moments of conversation before she said her farewells. I found myself alone at the airport, prepared to enter the departure area, but first, I needed to go through the standard security procedures.
As I was occupied with locating my documents, I noticed that the person ahead of me was Hollywood actor Dennis Quaid, whom I had seen in A Day After Tomorrow. Beside him stood an elderly woman struggling with several heavy bags. “May I assist you with some of those?” Dennis asked.
The old woman gazed at him for several minutes. “Of course,” she responded, handing him her other bag. Once we entered the waiting area, the woman approached Dennis and expressed her gratitude, saying, “Thank you very much for your assistance.”
With an hour remaining before our flight, I attempted to engage the actor in conversation. “It was quite heavy,” he remarked regarding the bag that the woman had given her. We conversed and shared thoughts, and before we realized it, the time had come to depart. We were both en route to Minneapolis.
“Saying thank you is more than good manners. It is good spirituality,” said Alfred Painter. William Shakespeare, the touted Father of English literature, reminded, “I can no other answer, but, thanks, and thanks.”
“Thank you” may be simply said but to a person receiving the compliment, it means a lot. “Every morning of the world I give thanks for all the wonderful things in my life,” a young man declared enthusiastically. “And do you know something? It’s strange indeed, but the more I give thanks, the more I have reason to be thankful. For, you see, blessings just pile up on me one after another like nobody’s business.”
“None of us are ever too busy to pay his way,” said David Dunn. “It takes only a few seconds to say a heart-warming ‘Thank you.’”
Look at former American President Theodore Roosevelt, who lived a more hurried and hectic life. Even on political campaign trips, when he was so busy and could hardly take a deep breath, he would excuse himself to go to small people and talk with them for a few seconds. It was his custom before leaving his private train to thank the engineer and fireman for a safe and comfortable trip. “It took but a fraction of a minute of his time, but he had two more friends for the rest of his life,” Dunn said.
“Good politics,” most people say. “But good living too,” added Dunn. “For, after all, isn’t having friends the basis of happy living, as well as of successful politics?”
Dunn continued, “Nor have I found any situation in which thanks cannot be given. You can thank even total strangers with a nod of the head, a gesture of the hand, a grateful glance – in jostling street crowds, in swaying subway trains, at the theatre, in the quiet of a church service, anywhere at all, if you heart is saying, ‘Thank you.’”
Yes, we seldom pause to give thanks for the simple blessings of life. “One reason is that we are used to having so much,” Richard B. Douglas contends. “We simply assure that we will have all the good things in life.
“Another reason is that it hurts our pride to be grateful,” Douglas continues. “We do not want to admit that God is the Provider of all good things. We are simply His stewards. Being thankful requires humility and faith in God. When we have these, we can be grateful.”
If you have to thank someone, do it now – before it’s too late. Do not wait for tomorrow for that day may not come anymore.
A widow, who had devoted countless days and hours to labor in the factory and to nurturing her four children at home, lay frail and weary on her deathbed.
Surrounding her were her now-adult children, transformed into men and women. The eldest son, overcome with emotion, expressed, “Mother, you have always shown us such kindness and goodness. We wish to express our gratitude. We are immensely proud of you.”
The mother, opening her eyes, inquired, “Why did you wait until now to share this with me? You have never spoken such words before.”
Turning her head away, she passed away.
An anonymous author penned this thought-provoking message: “For health and children, home and friends; for comfort in a time of need, for every kindly word and deed, for happy thoughts and holy talk, for guidance in our daily walk – for everything give thanks!
“For beauty in this world of ours, for verdant grass and lovely flowers, for the song of birds, for hum of bees; for the refreshing summer breeze, for hills and plain, for stream and wood, for the great ocean’s mighty flood – for everything give thanks!
“For the sweet sleep which comes with night, for the returning morning’s light, for the bright sun that shines on high, for the stars glittering in the sky, for these, and everything we see, O Lord! our hearts we lift to Thee. For everything, give thanks!”
Thank you!
