Internet is all filled with the fancy connotations of the word, “gratitude.” Most of these are often spiritual coming from the content of yogi’s, mental health practitioners and those pursuing the path of conscious living.
However, this spiritual side of gratitude focusing on being grateful to the universe and to oneself is not enough. I have met and interacted with a number of people who portray to be these nice, stoic kind of personalities with zero bigotry and pride. But the most shocking part comes up, when the same people end up being ruthlessly rude to people who work for them or the ones they meet in any social role or setup.
Is being rude the new cool? That is another debate but the question is how can you not adopt the basic social manners when you know that man is a social animal and it is impossible for him to exist in isolation. Being a member of this social fabric, there are some responsibilities that you owe to the society. One of these is using these two magical words – THANK YOU – more often.
Have you ever pondered why we do not say it more often? It might be the pride or a coy shyness stopping you from doing it. Another reason can be ignorance. In elite parts of the society, children are privileged enough to go to schools where manners and etiquettes are taught along with the best quality of education. However, public schools generally do not have the resources to focus on anything but to get their students pass the central exams. These schools, their staff members, and their students – nobody will be able to answer if they are asked about the necessity of thanking others.
Bosses and senior colleagues are often reluctant to say Thanks! You might see a lot of ego display at your workplace – multiple people from multiple backgrounds on the battleground of who is right and who is wrong.
Parents, relatives and even friends have never thought about their general interactions and relationships with each other. Probably, they never felt a need to. What we tend to forget in family setups is that we often take the most precious blessings the most for granted. Yes, the cosmos must be thanked for giving you the most amazing life but it is your duty to say thanks to your mother who works all day in the kitchen to provide you with food. You need to spare a second yourself and call your dad to tell him how grateful you are for all his efforts. Your assistant works all day to make things easier for you – it’s your thing to tell her how helpful all his efforts are and how you are grateful for them. Your driver has never heard you saying thanks every time he opens the door for you, now you are supposed to pay this debt off by acknowledging his work and presence.
We never think this way but one small gesture of kindness and a few words of love have the power to do wonders. We meet a lot of new people, strangers everyday and it is quite possible that we never get to see them again. A lot of people are working in industrial, ecological, digital and many other types of chain-ed systems, as a result of which we are living enjoyable lives at homes. We might not get an opportunity to meet all those people and thank them, and they might never be able to know us and our efforts in running the society but the ones we do get to know, the ones who work in our offices, in our houses, in our gardens, in our kitchens or probably just on the street in the other block – they deserve to be greeted with a smile and a thanks.
Is that a lot to do as a human being? As a citizen of this planet where millions of natural beings are constantly generating and degenerating, giving us the lesson of humility and surrender – isn’t it our responsibility to give some of it back?
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