“Thank you for the days, those endless days, those sacred days you gave me”

July 19th, 2023

The soft and smooth gentleness of spoken gratitude can hit like a ton of bricks and bring tears to my eyes. Happy and soft and gentle tears of emotions of memories of long gone times and people. And the fact that there were a few people, people who were very close and dear to me, to whom I didn't say thank you when I had a chance, doesn't help to keep those emotions in check. And now, since they are gone, I will never get another chance to say what I wanted and what I meant for what they meant to me. It is too late to show my gratitude to those who passed away, but I can still say it to those who now are close and dear to me.

Simple thank you, when said with meaning and sincerity makes me smile. And I hope that my thank yous make the recipient smile as well. A very overutilized phrase when said as an expected response to mundane daily actions and happenings. And at the same time, very underutilized phrase as meaningful gratitude shown to others. I guess the smile makes the difference in understanding that difference — when thank you is said with a genuine smile it will bring a smile to a person to whom it was said. And thank you without a smile (as an interlude or a finish to a conversation) will only get a reflexive nod of the head. So what I want to say here — be grateful and say thank you to those who wholeheartedly deserve it. Say it with a sincere smile and take back for yourself a smile from them. Don't put it away for later, even tomorrow might be too late. And remember — a genuine thank you only needs to be said once to be forever remembered and cherished.