Silent gratitude is not of much use to anyone. Therefore, learn to express your appreciation
The American philosopher William James, tells us: “The deepest principle of human nature is the craving to be appreciated.”
“Human relationships thrive on caring, sharing and mutual appreciation,” the Wise One remarked. “We rely on our loved ones, our friends and those closest to us, for moral support and encouragement, don’t we?”
“The amazing thing is that appreciation costs us nothing,” I added. “It requires hardly any effort. A smile, a warm gesture, a word of praise is all it takes; and yet we are so reluctant to offer it to others.”
Is it not true that all of us feel happy when we are appreciated? In this, as in other things, what we send comes back to us. For life is like a boomerang: what we are, what we do, comes back to us. When we give our best to the world, when we send out warmth, love and appreciation—it all comes back to us.
Of a great English poet, I read that he never spoke a word of appreciation to his wife. As long as she lived, he criticised her and found fault in everything that she did. Suddenly, the wife died. The poet was grief-sticken. He was ashamed that he failed to write poems in appreciation of her, when she had been alive. “If only I had known,” he lamented. “If only I had known... ”
Truly it has been said, life is too short to be small. Let us not be small-minded. Let us be generous with praise, appreciation and encouragement.
There was a distinguished American surgeon who was also kind-hearted and generous. His heart was touched by the little crippled boy at the street corner, from whom he bought his daily newspaper. He was always smiling and cheerful. The surgeon decided to operate him and help him walk and run and play like other boys of his age.
He made arrangements with the local medical school for the boy’s surgery. The hospital attached to the medical school offered all its facilities free for the operation—if the medical students would be allowed to witness the operation and learn from the great surgeon.
The surgeon explained to the boy what he planned to do and the boy agreed happily. He thought that it would be wonderful if young medical students learnt from the surgeon—for they would be able to help many more crippled children like him.
The day of surgery dawned. The boy was wheeled in the operation theatre and placed on the operating table before the surgeon and his assistants. A little away from the group, behind glass partitions, students were seated in rows as in a theatre to witness the procedure on closed-circuit TV.
The doctor began by talking about the boy’s condition and the procedure he was about to follow. When the preliminary talk was over, he turned to the little boy who lay on the table, a little anxious, a little afraid and a little excited. “Now Johnny, we are going to set your leg right,” he said to the boy kindly, as the anesthetist got ready to put him to sleep. The little boy raised his head and said in a soft, clear voice, “Doctor, I think you are a truly wonderful person. I pray that God may bless you for your kindness to me.”
The doctor’s eyes were filled with tears as he whispered, “Thank you, my boy!”
“I have operated on VIPs and multimillionaires who have paid a fortune to be treated by me. But nothing has moved me so much, given me greater happiness than the words of appreciation uttered by that young lad”
The operation was successful. When the students surrounded the surgeon for a question-answer session outside the theatre, he said to them, “I have operated on VIPs and multimillionaires who have paid a fortune to be treated by me. But nothing has moved me so much, given me greater happiness than the words of appreciation uttered by that young lad.”
Appreciate others!
Every day we are witness to acts of loving kindness offered to us. Let us not dismiss them as small or trivial. They deserve to be appreciated!
Silent gratitude is not of much use to anyone. Therefore, learn to express your appreciation.
Express your appreciation in words and deeds. This will make your life fresh and interesting!
By Dada JP Vaswani
