I find saying “thank you” a real chore, one I often put off so long I actually end up avoiding it completely. I know saying thanks can instantly change my thinking and my acting for the better. Knowing however for me is not doing. In his June 2018 TED Talk My journey to thank all the people responsible for my morning coffee, author AJ Jacobs tells about how his journey to say thanks woke him up to the tremendous inter-connectedness of us all.
Jacobs gives us five simple actions to try if we want to grow in awareness and thanks:
- “Look up
- Smell the roses, dirt and fertilizer
- Find the hidden masterpieces all around you
- Fake it until you feel it
- Practice six degrees of gratitude.”
This awareness Jacobs says leads us to wonder and joy. I experimented this past week, testing his claim. I got up one morning and even before my morning coffee, meditation or shower, I sat down and wrote a friend a thank you note. It worked! It truly started my day on a positive note, so much so that I vowed to do it every morning. I’m afraid, I already broke my vow, but now I have another something to work on. I hope you’ll hear more about this promise in the future.
Thank you for reading this far and Happy Thanksgiving 2018.
Posted by Dan O’Donnell, a layman who has covenanted with the Chicago Community. In addition to the standard covenant, Dan promises to work at connecting all partners known and unknown, to a conscious following the the way of Jesus, the way of the cross which Dan believes transforms all failure, democratizing the human journey
We are a community of laymen and laywomen who, with vowed Passionists, seek to share in the charism of St. Paul of the Cross through prayer, ongoing spiritual formation, and proclamation of the message of Christ Crucified.
Thanks Dan that was good advice and something that we forget to do.Made me think of all the people who haved helped me over the years and have tried to say thanks to but not as often enough. Neil