The Year a Simple Act of Daily Gratitude Changed My Life

Here is a lovely book to consider reading! A lovely light summer read for the beach! It is a true story of a transformational change in a man’s life.

365 Thank Yous: The Year a Simple Act of Daily Gratitude Changed My Life

Author John Kralik

This book was written by a man whole life fell apart at every level, his relationships with his children and partner, his work, his health.

Then, while out tramping on New Years’ Day, John was struck by the thought that his life might become at least tolerable if he could be grateful for what he had.  He was inspired by a beautiful, simple note he had received thanking him for a Christmas gift, John set himself the goal of writing 365 thank-you notes in the coming year.

It was transformational.

Note by note, day after day, he handwrote the thank you notes for gifts or kindnesses he’d received, large and small, from loved ones and coworkers, past business associates and current foes, school friends and doctors and handymen and neighbours, and anyone, really, who’d done him a good turn.

Immediately after he’d sent his very first notes, surprising benefits began to come John’s way.  Over the year John was writing his notes, his whole life turned around.

365 Thankyous

 

Ever wondered where the equivalent tradition of simple gratitude has gone? Sometimes in our busy day and age we forget how the act of thanking someone in return can actually mean the world to people. ‘365 Thank Yous’ tells the heart-warming true story of John Kralik, who in his early 50s believed he was failing in all aspects of life, love, health and work but turned it all around in one year all due to two words: “Thank You”.

Gratitude is the gift that keeps on giving, and Kralik was one who definitely discovered its true importance. He wrote one Thank you letter for every day of the year starting in 2008, and managed to gain friendships, heal a dying relationship, raise money and pay off debts, become closer to his family and change his entire perspective of life simply through his many notes, described as an ‘anthology of gratitude’ in the book.

His beautifully simple and caring notes are scattered through the book and readers get to have a close insight into how friendships can grow through small, kind actions. Even after the year of thank yous, Kralik has not stopped sending out his little messages of gratitude as he knows now how much they have changed his life forever.

This book is one well-worth reading and tells an incredible story which will give hope to those in need of a little happiness. As quoted from Kralik: “Until you learn to be grateful for the things you have, you will not receive the things you want. Human caring stands out as a unique and invaluable treasure”. Take a note from his book, and write a Thank you note to someone who has been kind to you; it is a simple act of kindness and you never know what happiness it will bring to you and others.

AN ACT OF KINDNESS FOR REFLECTION

Recently a very lovely friend of mine sent me this beautiful book on random acts of kindness. Just reading it brought me considerable joy. I want to share one of the stories and for you to reflect on what might have been your response to this situation...

AN ACT OF KINDNESS CAN SOMETIMES TAKE INCREDIBLE COURAGE.  I was at the country fair with my mother many years ago. I remember it was a very, very hot day and all around us children and parents were melting down. We were walking behind a woman with two small children. The children were crying and whining and the mother  was getting increasingly upset. Finally she started to scream at them to shut them up; then she turned around and struck them both very hard. Just to see this happen right in front of me made me feel like I had been hit as well.

Of course the kids started crying even more and the mother was on the verge of completely loosing control when my mother walked up to her, touched her arm, and said something like, "You poor dear, don't worry, sometimes things just get out of control for a moment". Then my mother offered to take the children over to the ice cream stand, buy them some ice cream, and sit with them while the woman took a little walk to compose herself. She returned about 10 minutes later, thanked my mother, hugged her children, and went on.

Three Things in Human Life are Important

I wanted to share with you a little from Robert Coles book entitled “Moral Intelligence”. He writes in the section ‘A letter to Parents’ the following:

 “How do we do “the best for them”? What is “the best for them”? I posed those anxious questions, pretending to be “cool” about it all by laughing, mocking my very inquiry- yet another worried, literal-minded father, teacher. “I told you,” he addressed me, he reminded me, “to be kind,’ that’s what we have to be, to do: show by how we behave that we’re interested in others and want the best for them.” Now he slumped a bit, and so did I- we both realized, I thought then, I still think, that we weren’t considering a specific act, or a series of acts, a routine, a set of rules, a strategy, but rather, a way of being to which one aspires, then works, day by day, to find for oneself, to share with others.

Henry James’s nephew, the son of William James, once asked the great and thoughtful novelist what he ought to do with his life, how he ought to live it. The nephew (who today might be regarded as going through Erikson’s identity crisis) received this advice: “Three things in human life are important. The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. And the third is to be kind.” The issue here is the hortatory verb, “be,” as well as the adjective- the instance that one find an existence that enables one to be kind. Hot to do so? By wading in, over and over, with that purpose in mind, with a willingness to sail on, tacking and tacking again, helped by those we aim to help, guided by our moral yearning on behalf of others, on behalf of ourselves with others: a commitment to others, to oneself as linked to others, that won’t avoid squalls and periods of seeming drift, but that will become the heart of the journey itself, with it’s ups and downs, a journey that is, after all, the destination- moral commitment given the life of moral companionship. “

I think that the issues that Robert Coles discusses are so critical to the health and wellbeing of our world. These are issues that we as teachers should be discussing the sharing with parents and children. More importantly we need to find ways to make kindness visible for those around us, particularly children. We all stand in such a powerful place, we should use this power with great care.