The Art of Thank You

It’s the holiday. It’s the season.

That must be at least part of the reason I recalled some things people have done for me. That was a very pleasant thought but, what I could not remember was, had I thanked them properly. And what is properly anyway and I don’t mean that in an Emily Post way, although there is nothing wrong with that kind of thank you either. More to the point, I was just considering the best way to respond with meaning to a person who did something for you.

Sometimes, “thank you” is right, enough and appropriate. More often the problem with that response is its absence. A gift of some kind is also a way of acknowledging an act of kindness. Then of course you can get into a never ending cycle of gifts and thank yous that will over complicate what a simple, heartfelt “thank you” might have just as easily accomplished. How about the “pay it forward”  form of thanks?  That’s good too, maybe one of the best.

If you analyze the “thank you” options too carefully the lovely, spontaneous appreciation can suffer a bit which brings me to yet another kind of thank you, the belated thank you. Now this one can seem terribly, terribly painful, hurtful and thoughtless to have bypassed and yet, it can bring the real value of the act to a new and more beautiful level. Sometimes what we are more grateful for at an older age has become fuller, richer, smoother and more valuable during its maturation.

Finally, there is the act of receiving with such incandescence that the thank you is implied with the subtlety of a brass band. My daughter, Julie as a child was the expert of this form of thank you. She could not wait to open gifts.  Her excitement was more than enough thanks.

So, my advice?  Let your own personal style be your guide, you know who you are and how to express thanks your way and that is just right.

Thanks for stopping by, I enjoy your visits.

©Herb Ratliff, November 21, 2011, All Rights Reserved