Gratitude

In our ego driven, self absorbed, often thankless society, it's a beautiful and sometimes rare but precious thing to be grateful and to appreciate. To foster gratitude in ourselves first and then to model this to our children is never to be underrated. Valuing an attitude of gratitude in family life is so important that I wanted to blog about it.


In our family we have adopted saying,  "thank you for saying thank you" -  it may seem a little OTT (over the top) as my kids call it, but will often say this to my children if and when they do say thank you. It also maybe seen as a little old fashioned but have from babes taught my children to especially be thankful after a meal. To thank Mum, Dad, Nana or whoever the cook/preparer of the food is, and though at times we get a little slack with this, my children say it by habit now, unprompted. Manners are often remarked upon by parents, whether good, bad, ugly or indifferent, so it is worth the effort to instill in our children young that being thankful, genuinely appreciative & polite are manners that stand one in good stead for life!


It's easy to grow lazy with thankfulness or to think that it isn't necessary, yet I think we would all rather hear an avalanche of, "thank-yous" than none at all! An overdose of gratitude to some may seem insincere but far better than to be ungrateful, complaining or even apathetic. It warms my heart immensely every single time I hear one of my children say, thank - you, I dare not take it for granted! 


Gift giving is another area where we sometimes get a little over expectant and under thankful. We have all attended birthday parties where especially young children (toddlers) have not learnt the etiquette of waiting and opening presents later, instead they rip open the present almost before you have finished handing it to them and then before they have had time to really appreciate the current gift, move quickly onto opening the next present, then the next...... sometimes feel we overindulge rather than truly appreciate. It's almost like we have to intentionally fight against the tide of selfishness that can engulf us. I wonder if  fostering gratitude is one way to counter balance the propensity we all have to want more and simply be content with less?


As a child I was taught to write, Thank-You cards or letters after a birthday to personally thank each relative and friend that had come to a party or given a gift - we used to do this as a family, but with time constraints, perhaps pure forgetfulness or even a sprinkling of ingratitude festering have lost this art. Maybe finding creative ways to be thankful and appreciate the little along with the big things in our lives; acts of service by another, compliments, gifts and even just being there can become an individual and family lifestyle choice.  


In recent 'gentleman lessons' with my sons, Mr EQ opened the car door for his sister upon return home from camp in a comical gesture but with the giggles & laughter came much appreciation, of a simple wordless act that meant so much!  


Princess Thoughtfulness said thank you last week for something that seemed really insignificant at the time, but during the week it has come back to me over and over like an echo, how lovely it was. Guess that's what got me thinking about the value and beauty of gratitude, let it overflow from our hearts and lives like a bubbling spring so that others also are caught up in its flow...........