Gratitude is a beautiful thing. We all know this. We're grateful when someone holds the door open for us, when a friend makes a nice gesture, or when a spouse remembers our birthday or does something thoughtful for us.
Gratitude is a virtue, and we think of it as such. But there is more to it than that. It is also a kind of courtesy, a way of acknowledging the debt we owe others and thereby honoring them. Because I am grateful to someone, I should show my gratitude through my actions: by thanking him, by doing him favors if I can, by not taking his kindness for granted, and so on.
It is not just that I am grateful; I want to show it in how I behave toward the person who did me good. And this is why gratitude is such a powerful force in human affairs: it makes people feel noticed, appreciated and respected.
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