Do you think to thank?

I love sports. Tennis is one of my favourites to watch. Although doubles matches are more fun and dynamic, I normally watch the singles. The reason is I absolutely love the way Rafael Nadal plays. I not only follow him because of his technique when playing but also for the person he has demonstrated he is. Rafa, as he likes to be called, is a gentleman inside and outside the tennis court. Needless to say, he is a legend.

Two years ago, during the famous Wimbledon Tennis Championship, Rafa, as usual, exhibited his great play and got almost to the semi-finals. Due to an abdominal injury he had to cancel his match and withdrew from the championship. I have no doubt he would have loved to play against the Australian great player and probably would have been in the final. But it was not possible. His health was first.

He left the tournament a day after the cancellation not before stopping to greet each single employee helping in the offices. Shaking hands with ones, hugging others, he went one by one. That’s a gentleman, a great example of gratitude.  Every time he has won a championship, he never forgets to thank not only the organizers (which is obvious), but the people who attended the match, the chair umpire, line judges and even the ball girls and boys, who nobody else remembers to thank.

Gratitude is so important! It’s a life-changing habit and we need to strive every day to stop and take time to be grateful. There are so many things to be grateful for! We take all for granted. We easily forget we came to Earth with nothing, not even knowledge. We came with the potential and the capacity but we acquired everything during our lifetime. There have been some special times when I have had thankful tears running down my cheeks. One was visiting the Grand Canyon in Arizona and the other was when standing in front of the Devil’s Throat in the Iguazu Waterfalls. Another of these special times was when I looked for the last time at my father’s eyes before he passed away. I have countless times I have felt thankful. Every single day, every single moment.

A good friend gave me a journal as a gift. It’s not a normal journal. I am supposed to write one thing I am grateful for per day. All of a sudden, I realised the so many people that help you during a day, in so many different ways. Also, the possibility to see a sunrise, the sea, trees and flowers in a park, the blue sky. I am grateful for all that and much more.

Unfortunately, children do not come with a parent’s manual. I think we all learn how to become one while being a mother and father. We make mistakes during this learning. I am thankful for the parents I had. Although I brought up my children in a different way, I must admit I learnt a lot from my parents. I wouldn’t be good at customer service, just to mention one thing. My parents had a supermarket, the family business, and I had to help every time I could. I admit I hated to be there when young. But that gave me the opportunity to develop skills in customer service. Something I have worked in for during whole life and in different companies.

I am also grateful I could always work in jobs that I liked. There was only one exception when I not only didn’t like the job but also salary wasn’t motivating. I cried every morning before leaving for that job and felt such a relief when I could finally leave it. The rest, I have enjoyed them. They were all customer service. I have had the blessing to meet so many different people. I have had customers who although time has passed, I am still in contact with them.

I am now studying (read this part imagining me doing the happy dance) Yes! I’m at University! (read this part imagining me doing the happy dance) Better late than never! I’m trying to have more knowledge. Learning a little bit here, a little bit there, from good teachers, from good classmates through discussions. We’re from different parts of the world. We have one thing in common: we want to become better human beings for this planet. We want to make a change, it doesn’t matter how big the change is, a turn for the good is always positive. I feel so thankful for this opportunity to continue growing and feeling young. YES!!! I still feel 27 in my heart!

“Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.”—William Arthur Ward.

I totally agree with him.