Silent Gratitude

I see a lot of “quotes.” Most of the time I don’t pass them along or repeat them, if it’s a quote by a person. (I do share a lot of Scripture references.) But every now and then, I see a quote that “strikes me” as profound. Yesterday I came across this one:

“Silent gratitude isn’t much use to anyone.” Gertrude Stein

The more I thought about it, the more profound it became, and it just fits into my life philosophy. In fact, I believe I have blogged before about the importance of expressing thanks. I won’t launch into one of my tirades about how the easier communication becomes (i.e., technology), the less true communication actually happens. You’re welcome. And, I won’t re-preach my sermon about the lost art of saying, “thank you.”

But, really. If you are grateful in your own little private heart, that’s a good thing. But, is it “useful,” even to yourself? On the other hand, if you EXPRESS your gratitude, then it blesses the person on the receiving end, and it blesses YOU.

For example, if someone does something for you (maybe a Random Act of Kindness), you can spend a lot of time thinking about how nice that was. Not much benefit comes from that thought. But, if you take the time to thank the person (a quick email works), then the other person feels good, and you feel great.

Or, on a deeper level, that would be personal to each individual, maybe there are many times when you feel gratitude toward someone, but somehow you never take the time or effort to express it.

Sometimes I fear we think it’s enough that we are grateful in our hearts. It isn’t.