Checking in on Week 23’s task of writing a Khop Khun Mak Kha (Thai for Thank You) Note.

The task was to write a Thank You Note to someone who has had an impact or influence on your life, AND to do this as a handwritten note and through snail mail!

We probably understand the importance of gratitude.  Do you know that there are benefits to sending handwritten thank you notes??

Check this out by Monica at Heart Gratitude

Here are 5 benefits of a handwritten thank-you note

• It gives us an opportunity to reflect on what another person has given to us or done for us. This is how true appreciation develops. If you don’t give a second thought to what you received then you probably aren’t going to feel very thankful
• Thinking about and expressing appreciation for what someone else has done for us helps us realize we are loved!
• In today’s digital age of email and texting a handwritten note is often a novelty. And when you take the time to write and send a note in the mail, that person is assured that you appreciate what they have done for you or given to you. It is often more meaningful than a text or email.
• Most people really enjoy receiving a nice hand-written note in the mail so you might just make their day as they read that heartfelt card!
• Handwritten thank-you notes can be kept as a keepsake. I have several heartfelt thank you’s from people I love that I hang on to.

Many of us might keep gratitude journals and in Week 8, this was encouraged for a Lighter More Loving You. 

Here is a little something from Becky at So Very Blessed on going deeper into cultivating a grateful heart. 

A Gratitude Journal Alone Is Not Enough

Writing in your gratitude journal alone is not enough. A thankful heart comes from being able to feel it, too. 

If the purpose of writing down five things you are grateful for every day was simply that, then it would be enough to just put your pen to paper. After number five, you could check that task off of your list and be done with it.

Cultivating a true heart of thankfulness goes deeper than mere words.

The purpose of writing down those things you are grateful for is to feel them. Relive those moments in vivid detail.

Replay that compliment someone told you or that smile your child gave you that lit up the room and warmed your heart.

What was going on around you? How did it make you feel?  

Savor the moment in all of your senses – the words, the emotions, the scents, the sounds.

About three years ago, I was in church with my family. My niece was 3 at the time and I was holding her in my arms while we were all standing up singing a hymn. At one point, she wrapped her arms around me and nuzzled her head into the nook of my neck. I remember everything from that moment – the bellowing organ, the feel of her skin, the smell of her hair, and especially how my heart was just bursting with love for that sweet girl and how thankful I was to be her aunt. I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve thought of that moment since that day and it never ceases to bring a smile to my face and warmth to my heart.

The more details you can remember, the better you will be able to solidify that moment in your memory, and the greater gratitude you will feel. And learning to do that regularly will change your life.

The more often you are able to relive those wonderful moments, the more you will experience a heart, and a life, overflowing with thankfulness.

Still time to hand write that Khop Khun Mak Kha (Thank You) Note!

Cheering You on to a Whole Deeply Cultivated Khop Khun Mak Kha Heart,

Barbara