How Do I Say Thank You

How do I say thank you, when ‘thank you’ feels inadequate? How do I say thank you when I really mean ‘thank you, but …’ How do I say thank you not only to the people who lift me up, but to all of creation that’s working on my behalf toward my ultimate becoming?

‘Thank you.’ Two simple words that express so much. A verbal expression of gratitude. A way of being in the world. And while the words ‘thank you’ are overused (and sometimes underused) in our culture, their essence can be a prayer of the heart, a deep yes to the goodness of life.

I am thankful for those who show me kindness, those who see me in all of my human-ness, those who love me despite my faults.

Thank you in French is ‘Merci,’ and the modern use of the word comes from Old French, ‘mercit:’ reward, gift, kindness, grace, and pity. Mercy is related to the Old French meaning, and what a gift mercy is, especially unearned! Aren’t we all living into this gift every day in big and small ways?

Finally, ‘thank you’ is a softening of the heart, a way of expressing our gratitude in a simple way, a prayer. As Meister Eckhart is famously quoted: “If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.”

(Photo by Javier Cañada on Unsplash)