Tis the season to give thanks. We have 86,400 seconds each day, surely enough to spare a few for gratitude, recognition, and praise. Invest a few in saying thanks…and a few more in doing deeds that generate thanks for your own random acts of kindness.
My mother always insisted the first discernable word I articulated was “tankyu.” Not “Mommy” or “Daddy” but “tankyu”. I choose to believe this to be true… although my mother also warned me not to be too cocky about this fact, pointing out it is a greater reflection on my parents than on myself. With a lovely smile, she was quick to say, “Of course it was your first word; you heard “thank you” so often.”
The world’s greatest writers have eloquently articulated the importance of kindness. Oscar Wilde said, “The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest intention.” Mark Twain pointed out, “Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” Have you ever noticed the bigger the gift or the greater the kindness, the more difficult it is to express thanks? Even William Shakespeare saw the challenge, offering up, “I can no answer make, but thanks, and thanks.”
As we enter the season of thanks, a season that should last all year, we wish you the happiest of Thanksgivings! Please know how much you are appreciated for the important work you do… and for being part of the Trojan family.
THANK YOU!
Romalyn Tilghman has been the editor of Trojan Today for almost thirty years. She is also the author of the award-winning novel, To the Stars Through Difficulties, soon to be published in German as Die Bücherfrauen.