The Heart of Thankfulness

There is this thought that I can’t seem to put away.

One of my mentors said something that got me thinking. “Thankfulness has a greater authenticity, a higher frequency than love.”

When somebody is thankful, you can feel it’s genuineness coming across even more than love!
Why is that? How is that possible? How is being thankful felt more deeply than love?

And here is the only conclusion I can come to: true thankfulness is the deepest love we can give.

There can be no ulterior motives with true Thankfulness. When I move beyond the robotic, “Thank you for my house. Thank you for my food. Thank you for my friends…” and begin to dig deep into gratefulness-WHY I am thankful, something shifts in my heart.

I feel a love for that person, or for that gift in an entirely different way. It is a “I am so glad you’re alive” type of love. It’s the type of love that goes beyond warm fuzzy feelings, and begins to exude a care and appreciation for the very soul of who that person is, no strings attached, no agendas.

Which, if we’re honest, our human nature tends to mix a little agenda and ulterior motive in here and there when it’s just love by itself without Thankfulness.

It really makes you think about all of the studies out there on how appreciation can be the difference maker in somebody’s life, somebody’s job, and somebody’s marriage. Could it be that person just needed a genuine boost of love without an agenda?

At the heart of Thankfulness, I find something deeper than just saying, “Thank you.” At the foundation of thankfulness, I think we will find love in it’s truest form.

So maybe this year, I’ll spend a little more more time thinking about *WHY* I am thankful, instead of just *WHAT* I am thankful for.

And maybe, just maybe, I’ll dig a little deeper the next time I am tempted to inadvertently say, “Thank you.” ❤️