Gratitude…. We know what it is but we often forget to express it !!!!!

How can I express my gratitude for all your help?

Gratefulness, appreciation, thankfulness, acknowledgement, recognition, thanks-giving…

We are all pretty much aware of all these things but how often we thank people who have really made our lives better in whatever little way possible is the question which I want to address today.

Let me be consider what I have done on this. Well the answer in terms of percentage is very negligible.

Most of us have seen Autograph movie which has come in all south Indian regional languages. It was an interesting subject which touched many and no wonder it did well at the box office. I happened to see that movie again and it made me think.
I went into a shell and listed out few personalities who have had a positive influence on me in some way or the other. It included my relatives, my school teachers, my friends, my colleagues, my students and many more. And then from that list I started checking how many of them I have thanked for all their contribution in some way or the other. And as mentioned earlier the percentage was very negligible.

Then I thought how I would feel if someone on whom I had a positive impact would write a thanks-giving letter to me. Well it is obvious I would be elated and treasure that letter. And I have treasured those since I joined this profession and big thanks for those who have given. I don’t think many would disagree to this observation of mine. It certainly makes you feel good. And am not talking about someone praising you for the sake of it or with some other intentions. A genuine thanks-giving or expression of gratitude is what I am referring to.

I decided to express my gratitude to all those individuals who have had an influence in shaping my life. The list which I referred was endless. I couldn’t do this at one go. I felt the need to clearly specify in what way they had helped me and thank them for the same.

I have taken a pledge that I will take up this task twice a month - A thanking letter to two individual or two entities for their contribution. As part of this initiative this month I have decided to write a letter to my school St. John’s Boys High School, Mandya where I studied from LKG to Tenth standard. I tried to recollect all the faculty members of the school and I was pleased that I could do a good job of recollecting. Many are still working there and you won’t believe they still remember you and what you were as a student. Hats off to them.

I agree that nobody expects gratitude of this kind but i believe if it comes they would certainly be happy. I know many might think why I am writing these things which are personal in nature. Well I would be glad if after reading this blog if at least one of them does this. Trust me friends it will be an interesting exercise and you will certainly feel good recollecting those good old days and thanking them in some way.