Gratefulness and Respect

Painting of two boys by pond

“When you practice gratefulness, there is a sense of respect towards others.” The Dalai Lama

Why is that some work is more noticeable than others? The unseen work, the day by day basic services, provide a backdrop to our daily lives and happens all around us, but we are blind.

Go out into the town centre late or early and you will see the road sweepers at work: clearing litter, emptying bins, cleaning pavements. Then there are those who work to keep the water flowing to our taps and others who work to ensure our sewage is pumped away. In public buildings and companies cleaners work late in the evening or at night when everyone else has gone home. I want to say, ‘Thank you’ to those invisible anonymous beings who help to make our towns, cities, villages and homes function so well.

After my mother died in a ward for elderly people I contacted the Ward Sister to ask her what gift would be appropriate to thank the staff for the care she received. She wrote back to say that they had never been asked that question before. People only contacted her to make complaints, never to thank her and the staff. I chose a beautiful painting for the ward and a small gift for the staff to share. My husband and I went to the ward to give it to the Ward Sister. We had to wait because she wanted the doctor there and some staff members it was such an unusual occurrence and they wanted to share it. The image above is of the painting we gave to them.

Today: I give thanks to all who work faithfully, often unseen, to make our communal lives better – postmen, road sweepers, road maintenance, canteen workers, cleaners, electricians, sewage workers, IT maintenance, dustcart workers, council gardeners, finance accountants, charity workers, food bank organisers, teachers, hospital workers … who would you add to the list?