Once off the coast of San Francisco, a female humpback whale got entangled in a spider web of crab traps and lines. She was weighted down by hundreds of pounds of traps that caused her to struggle to stay afloat. She also had hundreds of yards of line rope wrapped around her body, her tail, her torso, a line tugging in her mouth. A fisherman spotted her just east of the Farallon Islands and radioed for help (sent message by radio). Within a few hours, the rescue team arrived and determined that she was so badly off; the only way to save her was to dive in and untangle her, which was a very dangerous proposition. One slap of the tail could kill a rescuer. They worked for hours with curved knives and eventually freed her. When she was freed, the divers say she swam in what seemed like joyous circles. She then came back to each and every diver, one at a time, nudged them, and pushed gently, thanking them. They said it was the most extremely beautiful experience of their lives. The guy who cut the rope out of her mouth says her eye was following him the whole time, and he will never be the same.

Imagine how many times we have been fortunate, when we were entangled in some bad situation, yet been surrounded by people who helped us get untangled from it. Let us recall if we have thanked those angels enough……

The joy of giving and receiving gratitude is so significant in our lives.

Thank you is a small expression but it makes wonders because it expresses one of our most basic emotions – gratitude. It is not an abstraction, gratitude is a genuine emotion. It cannot be exacted or forced. You either feel it or you don’t. Yet, when someone does something nice for you, they expect gratitude. It is a mechanical human reaction.  And, people think less of you if you withhold it. Think about the last time you gave someone a gift. If they didn’t say thank you, how did you feel about them; ill mannered, or ungrateful, or S.O.B.? Everyone loves to be appreciated and noticed. Everyone wants to be recognized for their good deeds. In my opinion, being thankful is the key to making connections with other people. It is also the key to being happy with yourself and others.

I really enjoy when people admire me or acknowledge me. It feels good. It makes me feel like I have succeeded in whatever they expected of me. I’m sure to a certain degree, you do too. People feel great when others care about them; these are universal desires of humans. Knowing all that is easier said than done. For some people, it is tough to appreciate others; they take other’s love and warmth for granted and they forget to show gratitude.

The fact is, we are living in a day when many are not thankful for anything. Selfishness, stinginess and meanness mar the basic feeling of gratitude. Children learn the basic characters from parents; teaching children when they are young to be thankful is a difficult assignment which too many parents ignore, therefore, children feel that being selfish is standard.  Being thankful seems to be a lost skill set in the world today.  Not only do many children grow up without manners, they grow up without any regard to being thankful to the ones that even brought them into the world.

Once you start being grateful for all the little things as well as the big things, in life you will start to see a change in that you and you will be blessed with more things to be thankful for. When we focus on those things which we have in our lives, we automatically stop cribbing for things which we don’t have. This alone improves the quality of life.

Expressing gratitude is important to our daily and healthy existence, so please take the time to say thank you. It is not happy people who are thankful; it is thankful people who are happy.

The other day, I had gone with a friend of mine for a painting exhibition of teenagers. As we stood before a painting titled as “Winning Energy,” which was an awesome abstract painting by a young girl of 13, we both were struck by the brilliance of it. It was a painting portraying a galloping horse; the colors, the expression, the energy and the milieu – everything was awesome. Every detail in the painting stood out and it simply showed the strength of the young painter. My friend and I immediately wrote our remarks in the space provided for visitors. While writing my remarks, I heard another lady speaking some unwanted things about the artist, about her background and her parents. The lady was quite loud. Like me, many other visitors did not appreciate the lady’s remarks.

Is it so difficult to appreciate somebody’s good work? As a society are we so narrow-minded to value good work? Why do people criticize and snub others’ great works – we cannot appreciate other’s good work, good deeds when we are jealous of them. Many times we do not appreciate others due to some petty and insignificant reasons, and trust me; it is our own weakness of not recognizing the goodness in others. Even if we don’t appreciate good work, there are millions of people to appreciate and support those who are doing something good for the society. There are some great artists, physicians, scientists, architects, lawyers, writers, journalists, politicians, and philanthropists who are doing good work and making our living better. I believe not appreciating others for their good work is our own loss.

Remember, when we learn to appreciate others, we never lose anything, instead we become better persons. Appreciating others helps us to enhance our gratefulness and will also boost the doers’ capacity and fortitude.  The world requires good work of people. If we cannot do some good work, at least let’s appreciate other’s good work.

May be you don’t stop when you see an accident on road, but somebody else does stop; maybe you don’t contribute for somebody’s illness, but somebody else does; there are some good hearts who are helping people in emergencies, there are some generous people not very rich but, they still help some patient have better facilities in hospital. We don’t need to be rich to help, we need a strong heart, and we need compassion to lend other a support in their crucial times. If we can’t, let us at least appreciate those who go out of their way to reach out.

Learning to appreciate others’ ideas, sincerity, contribution, good deeds etc enhance one’s life. If we really take some time to ponder on how many people have helped us – done well to us so far in our lives; if we really count all those people and their contribution to our personal growth, and just bless them, it will harness the power of gratitude within us. Please try doing this, and it does feel really good.

Harness the power of gratitude within you. Many people for many good works, good deeds, good art, have never received any appreciation or reward in their lifetime. Do they need to be remembered after they pass away from this world? It is much better to say a word of appreciation while they are living than writing a beautiful biography or carrying a bouquet on their death ceremony. It is simply an act of hypocrisy in my opinion. The dead people – those imparted souls cannot see or smell beautiful flowers or read great biography written on them in their praise. While the person is alive, a simple appreciation is what is required.  Appreciating others and talking good of others after they are dead is one of the weakest attitudes of mankind in this world.

But friends, many people work hard regardless of others appreciation and recognition. But what about those young children who need to be held, who need to be supported, who need to be appreciated and recognised? Let’s not be cruel – let’s appreciate the youngsters to have a better and bright world tomorrow. Let’s harness their talent and their worth – so that we have more innovations and advancement for the future generations of our. Appreciation should come from our heart. If we do not appreciate others from our hearts, it is better not to show our artificial appreciation because it only wastes energy and time.

By appreciating we can boost and harness our relationships with others. A simple ‘Thank you’, Get well soon’’, ‘Happy Birthday’, Congratulation’, ‘Love You’, ‘Care for you’ can make great wonders in relationships. It’s so easy to forget and be aloof by not cheering others, by not loving others, not sympathizing with others, and not appreciating others.

In fact, to recognize others for their small good deeds is so beautiful. This simple tactic can literally transform an important relationship like a marriage, an employment, or friendship. If you constantly are ignorant about seeing the goodness in others, you will see your relationships will slowly deteriorate. Nobody wants to be associated with a self-centered, uncouth person.

It’s not too late to learn to say ‘’thank you’’ whenever someone shows you the least bit of consideration. Doing this will make you feel better and it will encourage others to be more considerate. There are plenty of rude and inconsiderate people out there in the world, but you can be a force for good people by simply spreading some appreciation and gratitude around. When you notice some good work of others, be quick to express appreciation and watch what happens – you will only see kindness, goodness, and uprightness around you.