Day 9 - 'Thanks' Isn't Always Enough

Day 9 was one of those legendary winter days. It snowed. A lot. And it started coming down early.

So I bundled up in my puffy coat, scarf, hat, and boots, and prepared to battle (as the panic-stricken media amusingly named it), snowmageddon. But as I watched the snow come down, I couldn’t relate to the frenzied horror the rest of the city was experiencing. I was calm, and thankful ‘cause I live in a condo building, where someone else shovels. I was thankful that I take public transportation to work, so I don’t have to drive through the storm. Yes, indeed, I was feeling pretty thankful. And when I stepped outside, I ran right into my building’s maintenance man (who probably wasn’t feeling so calm or thankful), ‘cause he was laboring away shoveling the snow.

Now typically I’d just say ‘hi’ or ‘good morning.’ But the 29-day challenge has already started to slightly change me. At that point I realized that Day 9’s gift was going to be the gift of honest appreciation. So instead, I said, “good morning, thank you very, very much for waking up early and shoveling for us, I really appreciate it.” He looked slightly surprised, then nodded, smiled….and continued to shovel. Yay. That felt good.

I continued to shuffle my way to the train and downtown, hurrying to make an early morning chiropractor appointment. I see a chiropractor to help loosen up my incredibly locked up, knot-filled neck and shoulders. But before I see the chiropractor, I first see a therapist who gives me a massage. This morning the therapist I saw was very attentive to my problems and concerns—she discovered a knot and worked really hard to get it out. She really impressed me.

So there it was: another opportunity for me to express my gratitude. Instead of just saying “thanks” or some other forgettable quip, I told her that I thought she did a great job, that I appreciated the time and care she took with me, and that her care really made a difference in the way that I felt. Again, I walked out feeling great.

Maybe the receptive giving energy that Cami talks about in her book had really starting to take hold; later in the day, my husband surprised me with flowers sent to my office, as an early Valentine’s surprise.

They came in a box, and after I removed the flowers, the empty box was lying on my floor. I ended up working late that evening: I was still in the office when the cleaning lady came around to empty the garbage. As she came by, she inquired if she could throw the box out. I replied, “Yes, please.” But again, there it was, another chance to show gratitude. So instead of ending there, I told her that I very much appreciated her going out of her way to help with my box. She looked up at me, with a touched look on her face, commented that my flowers were gorgeous and said “You must be very loved.”

I couldn’t agree more.