We are seeing a Tsunami of Gratitude all over the world
There has never been a time such as this in our lifetime:
Our Facebook feeds are full of thankful memes.
Flight crews are being called heroes.
Superman has passed on his cape to the nurses.
Our leaders in Canada include words of gratitude in their daily addresses.
Instagram hashtags of #dailygratitude and #30daysofgratitude are growing in popularity.
We are waving and cheering for our truck drivers and delivery people.
We are leaving hearts on our trash bins to thank sanitation workers.
Our homemade hearts fill our windows and light up our neighborhoods.
We are asking each other to share three things we are grateful for every day.
We are doing car parades to help our kids celebrate their birthdays in isolation.
Caregivers are being recognized for their contribution to keeping our elders safe.
We remember that it takes a farmer to grow our food and give thanks before we eat.
For the first time, we acknowledge the crews that prepare, warehouse, and distribute our food.
Jobs that would typically be overlooked in our society are now being recognized as heroic in a pandemic.
And around the world, at 7 pm, we make noise in honour of our front-line health care workers.
These amazing people we are thanking every day?
They have been here all along.
We may have taken for granted those who stocked our grocery store shelves and rang through our orders.
We may have forgotten to thank our waste collectors or those who clean our hospitals, businesses and homes.
We may have overlooked the person serving us coffee or working the drive-thru.
We may have yelled at those providing customer service for our government agencies.
We may have been frustrated with our postal service employees when packages were delayed or given them grief about shipping costs.
We may have been impatient about the long emergency room waits, or the lack of doctors and nurses in our communities.
We may have taken for granted our in-person sessions with our counselors, physiotherapists, chiropractors, and massage therapists.
We may have been rude to our flight crew if the flight was late or the drink service delayed.
We may have overlooked those who keep our water clean, the lights turned on, and our Internet running.
We may have honked and raised our middle fingers to the truck driver who cut us off.
We might not have looked our delivery drivers in the eyes as they asked us to sign for our packages.
We may have simply forgotten about all the invisible work being done to keep our society running.
It took a global pandemic for many of us to share our gratitude.
For years, I have dreamed of a world where we all choose to Wake Up With Gratitude. These days, we are choosing gratitude more and more often.
My prayer for the future is that when we look back at the COVID-19 pandemic that we remember the Tsunami of Gratitude. And that we continue to express our thanks for those who provide so many essential services who may become invisible again.
Our world will inevitably be changed forever after this pandemic runs its course. What kind of changes would you like to see?
“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi
It is our actions today, tomorrow, and the days that follow that will lead to permanent change. May we continue to share our gratitude openly with all members of our society, long after the pandemic has ended.