365 Inspirations—162: Unexpected Gifts

Hugging trees in Hoh Rain Forest, Washington

"You give but little when you give of your possessions.  It is when you give of yourself that you truly give."—Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet

This is my last week of the quarter and then I'm on break for two weeks. I have to say that I really look forward to the time off as it was a heavy quarter of teaching for me. This summer I plan to only teach one class in order to give myself time to work on other projects.

There were many occasions, during the quarter, when I wondered how I'd make it through the day. Teaching classes back to back for 5 hours with very little down time was really challenging. I did my best and gave the students all that I had.

Now it's the end. Today I spent my class time proctoring a state test and then I met students individually to go over their tests and get them registered for next quarter.

It's really hard to gauge, at times, if everything I'm doing is having any impact. I think we are all our own worst critics at times, so I was happily surprised to hear all the positive feedback from my students today about my class.

Some students wrote letters, some gave gifts and some verbally let me know how much they really appreciated my class and me. I really did not expect any of this and that made it all the more special. Here's a letter from one of my students today:

Not perfect, but heartfelt!

What I realized is that if you give your full attention to whatever you are doing, it will not go unnoticed. You may not realize the impact you have on people and your surroundings, but the things you do are important.

This appreciation from my students, which came in many different forms, was an unexpected gift. These gifts are treasures that make me want to keep on giving.

Have you ever received an unexpected gift?

365 Inspirations—29: Saying Thank You

"Gratitude is the memory of the heart."—Jean Baptiste Massieu

Two little words that can make such a difference in someone's life. I hope I never pass up an opportunity to say THANK YOU to anyone who I appreciate. I probably have, though.

Life feels difficult at times. Not every day is a bowl of cherries. Sometimes I write and wonder if anyone is really reading what I put down here day after day. I've just about completed an entire month of writing every single day. HOORAY!

Only 11 more months to go (he, he!). But really, in all honesty, I write because it feels so good to share. I write because I have something to say and I want to connect. I write because I have received so much in my life and I want to give back.

Just the other day I received this comment on one of my 365 Inspirations and it was completely unexpected:

Thank you, thank you, thank you for writing your book. I was pleasantly surprised to find, while reading it, that you are a local writer. This book has moved me beyond words. Thank you for taking the leap and publishing.

That was "four" thank yous and probably more than I deserve. Today I read a very touching letter from a community leader on her webpage. She was recently in a plane crash with her husband and he is suffering from severe burns on one-third of his body. Even though she has been through the most unspeakable situation in her life, she wrote about how acceptance of the situation has brought her peace and also how that has brought her equanimity at the same time.

We don't know what life will throw at us each day and I was struck by the fact that she was able to find acceptance of the situation and how that, in turn, brought her peace.

Lately, I've been struggling with a few personal issues, but nothing comes close to what these two friends of mine have been through. After reading her words, all I could do was think thank you.

That thought prompted me to write her an e-mail and express my gratitude for her words today. That's the gift that I can give right now. The gift she gave me was to see that sometimes life doesn't turn out how we expect or how we want it to be. If we learn to accept where we are right now and not wish it to be different, there is great peace.

So thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you (you all deserve four "thank yous" too) for reading this post today and for taking the time to leave comments. They make a world of difference and they mean so much to everyone you extend yourself to. Thanks to all of you bloggers and writers out there who, with your words, are making a difference in someone else's life.

Do you usually express gratitude to the people in your life? When was the last time you said, "thank you" to someone?