As a child, I groaned when my mother would sit me at the kitchen table with a note card and pen to write a thank you to grandparents or other relatives for a gift given for a special occasion like a birthday. When I would say in a very whiney voice that I already said, “thank you”, she would insist that a written expression was also necessary.
To quote Albert Schweitzer, “ To educate yourself for the feeling of gratitude means to take nothing for granted, but to always seek out and value the kindness that will stand behind the action. Nothing that is done for you is a matter of course. Everything originates in a will for the good, which is directed at you. Train yourself never to put off the word or action for the expression of gratitude.” Read more