{"id":36706,"date":"2022-10-15T00:01:35","date_gmt":"2022-10-15T07:01:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/barbarafalconernewhall.com\/?p=36706"},"modified":"2026-06-06T08:56:06","modified_gmt":"2026-06-06T08:56:06","slug":"thanking-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/server.stagingweb3.net\/barbarafalconernewhall\/thanking-people\/","title":{"rendered":"I’m Thanking People a Lot These Days. Why Is That?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"thanking<\/a>
I’m thanking people often lately, including painter Saeng Lattanatham, who’s transforming our house into a work of art — from beige to a soft gray-green. Photo by Barbara Newhall<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I’ve been thanking people a lot lately. I’ve been thanking people<\/em>, not God, not the Universe, not “the force<\/a> that through the green fuse drives the flower.”<\/p>\n

I’ve been thanking the bagger at the grocery store and the delivery guy who brought me food and warm pajamas when I was holed up in an Airbnb with covid<\/a> last summer. I’ve been thanking the 61-year-old man who’s climbing ladders to paint my house right now — turning it into a work of art.<\/p>\n

I’ve been going out of my way to thank people in recent months, and I’m wondering why.<\/p>\n

Gratitude Is a Thing<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Gratitude — big, intentional, generalized gratitude — is on trend these days. Its spiritual and stress reduction benefits are widely touted. Your yoga instructor will recommend it. So will your pastor, your doctor, your therapist, your best friend.<\/p>\n

\"thanking<\/a>
While I was doing dishes at the sink in the kitchen, the painter was painting the back side of the house. Photo by Barbara Newhall<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Gratitude is an adaptable, one-size-fits-all practice. You don’t have to be religious to practice it. You can also be religious and do it.<\/p>\n

But gratitude of the expansive, generalized, soft-focus type is not what I’m talking about here. I’m talking about an unsolicited impulse I’ve been feeling lately to thank people — strangers — for specific deeds, large and small. For bagging my groceries. For bringing the pick-up truck to a full stop so I can cross the street unperturbed. For painting my house.<\/p>\n

Thanking People for Being There<\/strong><\/h5>\n

I find that, these days, I am noticeably touched when someone does something for me, so I want them to feel thoroughly thanked for what they’ve done. I want them to feel thanked for just being there<\/em>.<\/p>\n

I didn’t set out to feel this way. None of this was my idea. I am not claiming any high moral ground here. This is not virtue I’m talking about. Far from it. This is something that has been happening to me<\/em>.<\/p>\n

What gives?<\/p>\n

I’m suspecting:<\/p>\n