Could there be anything more joyful than an unexpected personal note from a friend telling you they respect you and love you? I think not! I have been getting a lot of these from friends and colleagues, and even from strangers — and I have to say — it fills me with joy every single time.

You might be wondering: why would I suddenly be seeing this outpouring of new mail and such good wishes? Well, it’s happened since the launch of my book late last year where I proposed that we should all Spread Thanks in our daily lives. Literally, my book is about the practice of spreading gratitude by sending out a daily thank you note in the mail. You can buy the book here: Spread Thanks.

Spreading Thanks Everywhere

So my own thank you notes have been going out daily for three years now and my life has been transformed just on that account. However, since I sent out a public call for everyone to consider showing gratitude each day, I’ve been receiving thank you notes, both by regular mail or email, almost on a daily basis! I have to say, the response has been incredibly uplifting and enlightening.

As you can imagine, many of these notes are from people I do know but, to my surprise and delight, a large number are now coming from strangers – men, women and young people even, people all over the place who are benefiting from this practice. Opening all these different notes fills my heart with joy because I know my concept is working for them too, inspiring them to change their lives through gratitude. I always felt that the Spread Thanks movement was not just for me: it’s universal and works for anyone.

Giving the Gift of Gratitude

Here’s one of my favorite thank you notes – one I received just last weekend, from Kathryn, an adorable five-year-old who is the daughter of my friend Tom. Tom is a friend of mine from the past and we happened to reconnect when he heard about my book. I was thrilled when he said he absolutely loved the book and I happily accepted his offer when he invited me to his house to meet his beautiful daughters, Anna and Kathryn, who are eight and five. I brought the girls two small gifts and gave them each a pack of thank you notes (of course). At one point during our visit, Katie got a twinkle in her eyes and retreated to the other room, quietly.

As I was at the door saying goodbye to Tom after our great afternoon getting caught up, Kathryn reappeared (again with her eyes shining brightly) and she handed me my purse. Lo and behold, I saw a small white envelope – her thank you note to me! In it, she had thanked me for the bracelet and had written THANK YOU three times in big printed letters – so cute I smile every time I look at it.

Gratitude Has No Age Limit

Everything about the thank you note had been exciting to Kathryn – when she got the idea to write me the note, when she went into the other room to compose it, when she tucked the note into my purse and, finally, when she saw my reaction to it. Pure excitement – pure joy.

Kathryn got it! She understood the power of spreading thanks. Gratitude brought joy to me – and, dare I say, joy to her. This note is now displayed proudly on my office desk as a reminder that gratitude is a joyous, loving energy that has no age limit. Why not spread some joy of your own today with a short note to someone you love? Thank you for sharing your thoughts and experiences below and thank you for spreading thanks in your corner of the world.

Elena Anguita is a change agent, speaker, and author of Spread Thanks! Create Miracles Through The Power of Ink who supports education and passionately believes in the transformative power of gratitude. You can connect with Elena on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and SpreadThanks.com.

Featured image courtesy of dusan jovic.