17 November, 2013

Gratitude- be generous in expressing it !

The lawn in front of the Scudder auditorium at the CMC Bagayam campus is now turning into a garden of different flowers.

During the last two months, I noticed during my walks that about six men were regularly at work in the garden, laying the bed, planting, trimming, watering…etc.

Behind the blooming garden, there is this story of hard work and effort.

The gardeners do this to provide a visual feast to the visitors and to give a colourful look to the garden. The gardeners too feel fulfilled when the garden is blooming.

One gardener told me that it is when others come to visit the garden they feel most fulfilled.  It is others who give value and acknowledgement to their efforts. The gardeners thrive on the appreciation and encouragement they receive from the visitors.

We receive attention, care, and provisions from many people around us. They deserve to be noticed and thanked. I was reminded of this again yesterday.

When I was away from my room, someone left a beautiful flower arrangement in a large vase outside my room. It took a while for me to find the person who was generous. Later, when I got to know who the visitor was, I got in touch with him. He told me that his son who was going to graduate in an allied health course on Monday, wanted to express his gratitude to us for helping him to decide about  joining the course. Anna and I were only marginally involved with him, but he still wanted to remember us on his special occasion. This was a moving gesture towards us.

It is is when we are grateful and express it appropriately we offer value to others. When we express joy for what we have received, the person responsible for that gesture feels honoured and fulfilled.

There is much we can do to bring joy to others- gratefulness is one way of doing it!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)




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