What? Is this the weekly Hall | Stewart post?
I realize you read this every week for the latest lawn and landscape information and the title appears off subject today. It is. You have my permission to go ahead and hit delete now…you won’t hurt my feelings.
This week, Thanksgiving week, had me pondering the difference between ‘being thankful’ vs ‘being grateful’.
I love this time of year. I believe Thanksgiving may be the best holiday on the calendar. It isn’t over-commercialized. It is simple. It is a break in our busyness to spend time with friends and family and give thanks.
Tuesday morning, at our Hall | Stewart Weekly Huddle, we asked the question “What are you thankful for this year?”
The responses ranged from: “My wife!” to “My family!” to “Our team!” to “My newborn baby boy!” to “Our great customers who we get to help have their best lawns!”
However, one team member’s response started me thinking more deeply about thankfulness. Leo said, “I’m thankful for my changed life, my relationship with my Savior, and a life that is on a totally different trajectory than my old life!”
It started me wondering if that was thankfulness or was that gratefulness.
Is there a difference?
A Google search started. Conversations ensued.
Thesaurus.com states that in most cases they are viewed as exact synonyms.
Dictionary.com says they are close synonyms commonly used to mean the same thing.
Exact? Close? Or is there a difference?
I think there is a difference between thankful and grateful.
For me, being thankful is an event. Thankful is when someone does something for you. A gift. A helpful hand. A kind word. It is an acknowledgment of benefits received.
Grateful is something deeper. It is something richer. Gratefulness is felt in the soul. Gratitude comes from the heart. It goes beyond appreciation to a state of being.
I was very thankful to have another Thanksgiving with my mom whose mind has been fading for the past few years. Rarely does it appear she knows who I am anymore, but nonetheless, I was thankful to be with her on Thursday. I am grateful for her impact on my life and my family. She always wanted more for us than she had and encouraged us to achieve far more than we ever thought we could achieve. I am more than thankful for my mom; I have heartfelt gratitude for her.
Another personal example that has me pondering the difference…
A few weeks ago, a DYI home project took a quick turn for the worse resulting in a Saturday afternoon in the emergency room followed by surgery on Monday to put one of my hands back together. I am deeply thankful for the Integris Baptist Emergency Department doctors, nurses, and staff who practiced their craft so wonderfully that afternoon. I am also deeply thankful for a skilled surgeon who had the knowledge and experience to know exactly how to fix my damaged hand. And, the physical therapist who I am spending, and will be spending, way too much time with over the next few weeks, I am tremendously thankful.
But, it is the deepest heartfelt gratefulness I have for my wife who has so patiently woken up to my early schedule every day for the last 5 weeks to help me get ready and tie my shoes. I am more than thankful for her; I am grateful she is by my side as I heal.
It is gratefulness I feel that my dad was with me when the accident happened, got me to the hospital quickly, and then returned to finish my project in the days that followed. It is gratefulness I feel for family and friends who called, texted, prayed and showed up to check on Lori during my surgery. It is gratefulness that I feel for my Hall | Stewart partner and team members who stepped up to cover the workload I couldn’t do with my one un-injured hand.
Grateful is a deeper, stronger, more emotional version of thankful.
Thankful is recognition of a transaction.
Grateful is recognition, an acknowledgment of the difference others make in our lives.
Seth Godin said it well this week in his Thanksgiving Day post, “The magic of gratitude is that it improves everything it touches.”
Gratitude is a state of being. A position of gratitude changes your perspective.
What are your thoughts? Are they the same or is there a difference?
(I promise to return to talking about what we know best – lawns and landscapes!)
May your days be filled with a spirit of gratitude!
Lorne Hall
Hall | Stewart
(405)367-3873