It is not how much we do

but how much love we put into the doing.

— Mother Teresa

 

 

Last year, I made a commitment to myself that I would mean Thank You when I said it. This is quite different for me from saying thank you when I mean it. I used to say “thanks” without much thought or intention. I came to realize that in so doing, I robbed it of any meaning. Now, when I get off the bus and thank the driver, I also focus for a moment on a feeling of gratitude for having been transported to my destination. When I thank a server in a restaurant, I remind myself to be thankful that I have been served. I hope that my gratitude comes through to the other person and that it might lift their day a little. Regardless,  it lifts my spirit, and keeps me living honestly and with integrity.

To me, meaning thank you when I say it is an example of what Mother Teresa is telling us to do when she says “[it is] how much love we put into the doing.”

A meditation for February 11, 2013