In a previous post, I wrote about the rule I made with my husband, then boyfriend, about not saying the generic, "I love you." Instead we agreed to find more accurate ways to express ourselves. Today, I've been thinking of another generic expression that could use some clarification.
Today, I could have written a generic, "thank you." But there was much more I could write. Things that would bring a smile to the reader and lighten their heart. I thought, if I were really grateful I'd take the time to be specific. I'd tell them what I thought was wonderful about them. I'd be unmistakably genuine.
I know a lot of people complain that handwritten thank you notes have gone out of favor. I don't care. Mine was an email. But what I wrote was real. More real than anything I ever wrote in an obligatory handwritten card. Not that I wasn't truly grateful before, but I was rushed and trite.
Age is settling well on me. With the passage of time I've grown a better set of priorities. I want to be more genuine. I want to be more truly connected. I want to take the time to say the nice things I think of others. We're raised with the rule, 'if you can't say anything nice, say nothing at all.' But when we can say something nice, how often are we silent anyway? How desperate are we to hear good of ourselves, and how stingy with our praise of others?
We cannot live our lives without the company of others. Humanity as a species is incredibly interdependent. How beautifully our words of appreciation create deep channels between us through which the requirements of our interdependence can flow. Specificity in expression allows us to better understand what those channels need to transport.
I'm challenging myself, and you reader, to not withhold saying a good word to someone, when it is in our minds to think it. To be more specific with our words of gratitude. To value our human connections, even through digital mediums. To not lose an opportunity to speak encouragement.
I appreciate how my readers respond to what I write here, because it helps me to become a better writer. I appreciate when you like and share my links on Facebook, because it lets me know when something I've written really touched you or was useful to you. I don't widely publicize this blog because I feel that it's still writing practice. When you publicize it I feel truly honored. When people declare that the internet will be the downfall of polite society, I know they're wrong, because all of you are here, reading a blog that declares its purpose to be helping to create strong families. I hope my words make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, because I'm not going to be posting any photos of kittens to try and make that happen.
Today, I could have written a generic, "thank you." But there was much more I could write. Things that would bring a smile to the reader and lighten their heart. I thought, if I were really grateful I'd take the time to be specific. I'd tell them what I thought was wonderful about them. I'd be unmistakably genuine.
I know a lot of people complain that handwritten thank you notes have gone out of favor. I don't care. Mine was an email. But what I wrote was real. More real than anything I ever wrote in an obligatory handwritten card. Not that I wasn't truly grateful before, but I was rushed and trite.
Age is settling well on me. With the passage of time I've grown a better set of priorities. I want to be more genuine. I want to be more truly connected. I want to take the time to say the nice things I think of others. We're raised with the rule, 'if you can't say anything nice, say nothing at all.' But when we can say something nice, how often are we silent anyway? How desperate are we to hear good of ourselves, and how stingy with our praise of others?
We cannot live our lives without the company of others. Humanity as a species is incredibly interdependent. How beautifully our words of appreciation create deep channels between us through which the requirements of our interdependence can flow. Specificity in expression allows us to better understand what those channels need to transport.
I'm challenging myself, and you reader, to not withhold saying a good word to someone, when it is in our minds to think it. To be more specific with our words of gratitude. To value our human connections, even through digital mediums. To not lose an opportunity to speak encouragement.
I appreciate how my readers respond to what I write here, because it helps me to become a better writer. I appreciate when you like and share my links on Facebook, because it lets me know when something I've written really touched you or was useful to you. I don't widely publicize this blog because I feel that it's still writing practice. When you publicize it I feel truly honored. When people declare that the internet will be the downfall of polite society, I know they're wrong, because all of you are here, reading a blog that declares its purpose to be helping to create strong families. I hope my words make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, because I'm not going to be posting any photos of kittens to try and make that happen.
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