“That delightful emotion of love to him who has conferred kindness on us, the very feeling of which is itself no small part of the benefit conferred”
Thomas Brown
Last Saturday my colleague dropped in to spend the week end with me. He is my senior officer staying alone as his family is in his home town. In the office, I always find him as an elder brother with so much concern for me. Besides, he always makes himself available to me.
I cooked something special for him and received his praises in abundance for the delicious stuff. At night, we spend many hours sharing each other’s experiences, both personal and professional.
On the following day morning, we also found some time to watch a highly acclaimed feature film. He left in the evening, saying ‘now you have become my confidante and our bond is strengthened’
At night I received an SMS from him, ‘Vipin, thank you very much for the sincere friendship and love. I really enjoyed staying with you’. I read it again and again because hardly my inbox gets the privilege of storing such messages.
We hear a lot of thank yous in our day to day life but very few strike us. Why? The reason is nothing but we can easily measure the amount of sincerity attached to it. Of course, a thank you makes a big difference when it is given sincerely and it becomes a lasting feeling when given through a message or a card.
My colleague does have a grateful heart and it is not because of my worth to be thanked. I still believe that the volume of what we have given is very less when compared to what we have received. But in how many instances we are grateful when we are at the receiving end?
Gratitude always emanates from one’s attitude. And, the attitude of gratitude has ever been a parameter that measures one’s altitude.
“In ordinary life we hardly realize that we receive a great deal more than we give and that it is only with gratitude that life becomes rich”
Dietrich Bonheoffer
