The Giving of Thanks and Gratitude on the Special Day … and Every Day!

by Judith W. Umlas

I totally enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday, when here in the United States we prepare great foods that take time, energy, focus and yes…love! We also make a point of giving thanks and expressing gratitude to family and friends, to colleagues and customers…in short, to the world! Practically every email I have received this week has ended in some expression of good wishes for the upcoming holiday. But I would propose a new, global and remarkable holiday that takes place not once a year, but EVERY day of every year. We can call it Gratitude Monday, Gratitude Tuesday, etc. Or everyone can end their emails the way I now do, thanks to the inventiveness, creativity and commitment of Xavier Joly, HR Business Partner,  Bayer CropScience in Lyon, France. He recently brought Grateful Leadership into his company and he now closes all of his emails this way:  “The Grateful Journey has begun!”
With his permission, I have started doing the same and you can, too! Take the opportunity on Thanksgiving and on every day to acknowledge someone in a profound, heartfelt way that truly makes a difference. Don’t be afraid to express the gratitude that lives in your heart. Don’t let acknowledgments live in your brain; instead, become conscious of these beautiful and precious “gifts” and then deliver them, even if it makes you feel vulnerable to do so. Vulnerability is a virtue!

So on this Thanksgiving holiday and every day, I express my gratitude to all of you who have courageously begun “The Grateful Journey” with us at IIL. Enjoy, celebrate and appreciate your friends and your family — not just this holiday, but on the new holiday we are co-creating, which takes place each and every day!

“The Grateful Journey has begun!”