How Do We Express Gratitude in Times of Crisis?

At this time, when we are struggling with the changes in our routines and our lives, I wanted to write about expressing our gratitude.  How do we express gratitude in times of crisis?  I think that during the best of times, it requires a little effort to express thankfulness, but during more difficult times, it requires extra effort.  

As I sit down to write this blog post, I am truly amazed at how drastically my life, all our lives, have changed in the last two weeks.   What goes without saying is that some days are easier and others are more stressful.  I find that looking for things to be grateful for helps me through these stressful times. 

So here are 5 things that I am truly grateful for:  

Truck drivers, mail carriers and food delivery people, grocery store workers, my family, my health, and Medical workers.

But how do I (we) truly express gratitude for these people?   Saying Thank you doesn’t seem quite enough, so I googled “how do you express gratitude?”  and came across this wonderful article that listed 10 ways to express gratitude.  Here is the link if you would like to read some of the articles.  

 https://psychcentral.com/blog/10-ways-to-express-gratitude/

Some of them, we can’t do right now, like go visit someone, but there are still lots of ways for us to express our gratitude.  

While out for some exercise the other day I noticed a unique way to show some strangers gratitude.   

What a wonderful way to express gratitude

See picture on the right! 

 On a different walk, I saw a family walking together, a mother and her two children.  They were showing gratitude by trying to get truck drivers to honk their horns as they drove by.  I am sure that this brought as much joy to the truck drivers, as it did to the family and to me.  Small moments can have lasting effects.

So let’s Reach out to all those around us and add to our gratitude Chain!    

1. Write a letter of gratitude or make a thank you card and mail it to someone, anyone that you are thankful for. 

2.  Leave a note for your mail carrier.

3.  Check in on a neighbor, a friend, or family member

4.  Call someone to say hello

5.  Say what you are grateful for in the comments below         

6.  Ask if you can help someone

7.  Offer to help with chores

There are two more things that I am thankful for, all the families and students in the Watkins Glen Reach program and the fact that this situation won’t last forever.  We’re all in this together.