Musings by John Weir

So did you thank someone today? Maybe you started the day asking people to do something before you thanked them for what they have already done. Maybe you told the first people you saw, something nice. I got to work this morning and tried something fun…

First person, “Hey I want to tell you something, you are a driving force here, everyone looks to you because you know how these should be, and you make things happen.” You can imagine the positive reaction that got.

Second person, “I want you to know you are magnificent. You are like the rudder of a ship, you guide this facility to success. If it was not for you to keep everything running the doctors and nurses would not be able to perform their healing mission for these patients.” Again, you can imagine the positive reaction. Later in the day second person tells third person, “John always inspires me in the mornings”, or something really close to that.

What prompted me to do this. Well, I don’t really know. I did not plan it more than a minute before I spoke to person one, and person two was right after person one. The thought behind it I think, was more self serving then other serving. It goes back to something I try to practice; “Stay so busy giving recognition that you don’t need any for yourself.” I’m still trying to make that work but I have not given up yet. I imagine it takes a lot of daily recognition giving before you don’t need any, but slowly as I practice I can see it happening. As people recognize you as a recognition giver they like to return the favor, and there is the difficulty.

Do you give recognition because it is truly deserved, or because you want it in return. I guess it really does not matter as long as you mean it and it is for the right reason. So just keep doing it and prove me wrong, or right.

However, the real point of this is Gratitude. Do you show it, give it, live it? Do you know people who say the right thing at the right time? Go out of their way to help or show they care? How about just simple things, do you show gratitude? show that you are grateful? If not, here are some wonderful quotes to help you understand this better, and I’m grateful that you take the time to read these…

“Thank God–every morning when you get up–that you have something to do which must be done, whether you like it or not. Being forced to work, and forced to do your best, will breed in you a hundred virtues which the idle never know.”
~ Charles Kingsley ~

“No duty is more urgent than that of returning thanks.”
~ Unknown ~

“Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.”
~ Marcel Proust ~

“What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity.
These are but trifles, to be sure; but, scattered along life‘s pathway, the good they do is inconceivable.”
~ Joseph Addison ~

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.”
~ Melody Beattie ~

“Blessed are those that can give without remembering and receive without forgetting.”
~ Author Unknown ~

“If you concentrate on finding whatever is good in every situation, you will discover that your life will suddenly be filled with gratitude, a feeling that nurtures the soul.”
~ Rabbi Harold Kushner ~

“He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.”
~ Epictetus ~

“The sun was shining in my eyes, and I could barely see
To do the necessary task that was allotted me.
Resentment of the vivid glow, I started to complain–
When all at once upon the air I heard the blindman’s cane.”
~ Earl Musselman ~

“There is a calmness to a life lived in Gratitude, a quiet joy.”
~ Ralph H. Blum ~ ( American Author )

“You simply will not be the same person two months from now after consciously giving thanks each day for the abundance that exists in your life. And you will have set in motion an ancient spiritual law: the more you have and are grateful for, the more will be given you.”
~ Sarah Ban Breathnach ~
Simple Abundance

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”
~ John Fitzgerald Kennedy ~

“A contented mind is the greatest blessing a man can enjoy in this world.”
~ Joseph Addison ~

“To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven.”
~ Johannes A. Gaertner ~

“To educate yourself for the feeling of gratitude means to take nothing for granted, but to always seek out and value the kind 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.”
~ Albert Schweitzer ~

“Most of us, swimming against the tides of trouble the world knows nothing about, need only a bit of praise or encouragement – and we will make the goal.”
~ Jerome P. Fleishman ~

“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.”
~ Cicero ~

“Every time we remember to say “thank you”, we experience nothing less than heaven on earth.”
~ Sarah Ban Breathnach ~

“Gratitude is something of which none of us can give too much. For on the smiles, the thanks we give, our little gestures of appreciation, our neighbors build their philosophy of life.”
~ A. J. Cronin ~

“Nothing is more honorable than a grateful heart.”
~ Seneca ~

“True thanksgiving means that we need to thank God for what He has done for us, and not to tell Him what we have done for Him.”
~ George R. Hendrick ~

“Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul.”
~ Henry Ward Beecher ~

“Thankfulness is the beginning of gratitude.
Gratitude is the completion of thankfulness.
Thankfulness may consist merely of words.
Gratitude is shown in acts.”
~ David O. McKay ~

“If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.”
~ Meister Eckhardt ~

Be Thankful

Be thankful that you don’t already have everything you desire,
If you did, what would there be to look forward to?

Be thankful when you don’t know something
For it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times.
During those times you grow.

Be thankful for your limitations
Because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for each new challenge
Because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes
They will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you’re tired and weary
Because it means you’ve made a difference.

It is easy to be thankful for the good things.
A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are
also thankful for the setbacks.

GRATITUDE can turn a negative into a positive.
Find a way to be thankful for your troubles
and they can become your blessings.
~ Author Unknown ~