Blog
Thank you for …
by Betsy Sobiech
September 23, 2010
I remember learning to write thank you notes as a kid. I grew up in Iowa, a distance from my Minnesota relatives, which meant that every holiday and birthday I had to sit down and write a seemingly endless series of letters that went something like this:
“Thank you very much for the _________. I love it. I will use it when I ________. How is the weather? It is snowing here. Say ‘hi’ to __________. See you next summer! Love, Betsy.”
I was really thankful. And although it felt tedious at the time, this practice was important in many ways (including improving my penmanship). One significant lesson was to be in communication with loved ones, which cannot be underestimated or done enough. The other was that gratitude is an interruption.
To be authentically thankful you must pause. You must stop doing what you’re doing. You must notice what you are grateful for and then have the courage to say it out loud to the people who matter most. When we do this, whether it’s …
- Shifting our attention from the gridlock to the things we most love about our life
- Sitting down at your table with a glass of wine to write a long overdue thank you letter
- Looking someone in the eyes and letting them know you appreciate them
… it’s one of the purest forms of joy we can experience.
Next month’s teleseries is specifically about gratitude. Tiara Program Coaches Ellen Burton and Franciska Moors challenge and guide us to intentionally practice gratitude throughout the entire month of October.
You can listen to Ellen talk about gratitude and share some recommended practices here:
You can register for the 4-week TeleSeries here.
And of course you can pause and share what you are truly grateful for in response to this blog. We’d love to hear from you and are thankful you’re in our community!!!