When you were a child your parents taught you never to receive any gift or thing without those two magical words “Thank You”. It could be one word in your indigenous language. So, we all learned to say it almost mechanically. But despite our parents’ best efforts, some amongst us can take, grab or receive without saying “Thank You”.

Think about work mates that steal your ideas, plans and projects without a shade of shame at all. Or bosses and employers that exploit you, pay you peanuts or nothing at all. Think of clients who acknowledge receipt of your great work, refuse, forget or delay paying you ? Who or what do they believe pays your bills or feeds your family ? Some even demand more ?

Imagine the child that lives under your roof, eats food that you buy, dresses in clothes that you sweat hard to buy, uses a mobile phone and data bought with your money or drives your car and still fails to say “Thank You”? Children can forget that you’re human and only remember you when they want something or need to go somewhere. What Entitlement, What arrogance, What stupidity!

Parents too can feel so entitled to a child’s labour, provisioning, gifts, phone calls and effort that they forget what they taught saying: “Thank You”.

Parents can break the spirit of their children in several ways, including:-

(a) Comparing Siblings as though it is a beauty contest or comparing their children to neighbours or friends’ children as though to say : “you don’t measure up”. Why are you not like so, so and so’s daughter or son?
(b) Demanding endless performance and wanting to live their own failed lives, marriages, careers and parenthood through their kids
(c) Not learning to let go , being control freaks, being over protective and projecting their bitterness and failures and disappointment or even surreal expectations onto their children
(d) Loving your spoilt brats to the point of failing to help them snap out of perennial childishness and splendid displays of irresponsibility. Just because your childhood was hard, deprived or full of suffering does not mean that you should spare your children the privilege of encountering the realities of life. One day you will die and your precious spoilt brat will have to face life totally unprepared. You are cruel , you are careless and reckless to not prepare your child in advance.

GRATITUDE is an attitude of the heart and a condition of the mind or human spirit that appreciates and acknowledges others . It sees small and big things done by others and treasures them. Gratitude is by nature empathetic, it puts itself in the shoes of the doer and values the thoughts behind each deed no matter how small or seemingly insignificant. Gratitude values people and not just performance. It is the constant willingness to search for light, life, peace and joy as well as to give these. People are not like trees or grass along your path that you trample upon or pass without noticing. Notice people great and small. Remember people, acknowledge people and appreciate people.

Saying “Thank You” means nothing if it doesn’t come from a grateful heart. It is a mere ritual if it is accompanied by a “But” or some form of grumbling or complaint. ‘Thank You’ is a great phrase, improve on it by learning Gratitude.

Above all, do not be that idiot or fool that only counts and accounts for what you do for other people and you totally fail to appreciate the great and small things other people do for you! Yes you give and have given a lot! BUT , if truth be told , you have received a lot more than you have been willing or wise enough to acknowledge. Be grateful, be thankful for the gift of Life, family, friendship, health, wellbeing and welfare. Serve people and value them!