"In hopes of restoring my sanity in these troubling times, I recently undertook a quest: I pledged to thank every single person who had a role (however small) in making my morning cup of coffee possible. " (AJJ)
Okay... this book is actually a hard cover read that shares space on my office book shelf and no... it does not eat up data storage and megabytes on my iPhone. I still have books that I can hold in my hand and every once in a while I might even pick up a read at the local Chapters/Indigo.
This book caught my attention because of it's subtitle. "A gratitude journey" I was looking for a good gratitude read and I found one.
"It's Tuesday morning, and I'm in the presence of one of the most mind-boggling accomplishments in human history... It is my morning cup of coffee." (AJJ)
A.J Jacobs went on a journey... and I like reading about journeys. Before we go any further... check out this Ted Talk link, and let A.J himself tell you about his gratitude journey.
Gratitude is something I take for granted more than too often. Saying thank-you can be so easy, yet I don't say it when I have a perfect opportunity. A.J. Jacobs reminded me that there are thousands of people who work long and hard hours just so I can enjoy a simple thing... like a cup of coffee. Or in my case, it would be a large French Vanilla with a shot of expresso from Tim Hortons.
"It's a challenge. It's much easier to be grateful for a good thing (a raise at work, a delicious meal), than for the lack of a bad thing. But both are important." (AJJ)
Let me try some gratitude. I am thankful for Blogger for giving me an opportunity to blog about gratitude. I am thankful that I have fingers that can type my blog post. I am thankful for my easy touch keyboard, so those fingers I have don't have to work so hard to type. I am thankful for my typing classes (and the teachers that taught them) in Grade 10 and at Olds College, so drafting this blog post wouldn't take me all day to create. I am thankful that I live in an age where keyboards and computers exist which allow me to share my writing inspirations. I could go on... A.J talks about "the astounding interconnectedness" that happens when one starts being grateful.
I am going to end this post with an interaction A.J. had with one of his "thankees"... Maybe it will encourage me again to express my gratitude to even the guys who builds pallets.
I wrote down the name of one of the pallets I spotted at the warehouse. It was made by a small New Jersey-based company called Jiminez Pallets. I dial the number.
"Is Rafael Jiminez there?" I ask
"Yes, that's me." He has a thick Latino accent.
"Oh, great. I want to thank you."
"For what?"
"I'm a writer, and I'm thanking everyone who helped make my cup of coffee a reality. And your pallets carried my coffee. So thank you."
"No problem." he says.
His tone is flat. I wonder if I'm being helpful or just intrusive.
"Can I ask you something for real? Do you appreciate getting thanked, or is it a waste of your time in the middle of your workday?" I say.
Suddenly Rafael warms up. "You never ever waste my time."
"Oh, that's good to hear."
"You are a very wonderful person. I really appreciate you taking time to reach out and thank me." (AJJ and the pallet builder)
1 comment:
Thank you several thousand Ruby! I love this post. And thanks to the inventor of Blogger. And the inventor of cut and paste (assuming you used that). And to your parents for having you! I really appreciate this.
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