What is Thankfulness?
What is Thankfulness?
Here at True Balance Karate in Downers Grove, Illinois? We have a social emotional learning program called True Character.
I’m Master H, the owner and chief instructor here at the studio. I have two master’s degrees in education, and we’ve developed this curriculum to meet the needs of our youngest students who are three or four, and our oldest student who is 85.
Defining gratitude
This month we are talking about thankfulness, being happy and grateful for all that we have. As we talk about thankfulness, we know that we’re supposed to use words like “thank you” to show that we’re grateful that somebody did something for us. But, you know, sometimes that can feel like an automatic, right? Somebody hands you something and you go, “Oh, thank you.” Are you really thankful, or are you being polite at that moment in time?
As we’re teaching this to the younger kids, as we’re teaching this to our students, we’re getting them to understand that being respectful, being polite, using the magic word of respect, “thank you,” is a very important thing to do. But feeling thankful is an added layer to saying thank you. Feeling that gratefulness, feeling happy for things that you have, is that added bonus to using that respectful word.
Stories of thankfulness
I remember a story of my kids who had been taught to be respectful and kind to servers, to cashiers, to people out and about doing their jobs. We were at a restaurant. It was so busy that they asked to separate us into two different tables. We were there with another family, so it was our two kids and their two kids, and then the four adults. We said, “Yeah, we can separate the group. The kids will be behaved; we know what they’re gonna do.” We checked on them from time to time to make sure that they knew what they were gonna order and to make sure everything was going okay.
When we weren’t checking in on them, apparently they had been so polite and so kind to the server that the waitress came over to our table and said, “You know, your kids were the only people who said thank you all day. I brought them a lemonade. They said thank you. I brought them their food. They said thank you. I got them extra napkins when they requested it. They said thank you. They were so kind and polite, I wanted to do something nice for them.” It was her way of showing that she was grateful for how kind they were, and the kids wound up getting free ice cream from that particular moment.
How we show gratitude
It brought home the idea that when you’re demonstrating thankfulness, when you’re demonstrating gratefulness, it’s not just saying the words without actually meaning it; it’s also doing something kind. It’s also demonstrating your feeling of it. It’s also a smile or a hug or a drawing or free ice cream.
As we get our younger students to understand that it’s a bigger feeling, we’ll talk about it in class. You wind up going and playing at the park with your friend and you say, “Hey, thanks for playing with me at the park.” How do you actually feel about that opportunity that you had? Did you have fun? Did you enjoy it? Did it become a relaxing time? Did you create some memories? That adds to the degree of thankfulness that comes along.
Recognizing kindness
As we lay this foundation, as we get into high school, as we get into college, we recognize people that are doing things for us. Professors that go out of their way to tutor us and take care of questions and things that we might not understand with assignments. Then we get into the workforce and we’re adults, and we go about our busy lives and “thank you” just becomes something that we say. But if we pause for a moment and reflect on it, which we do in classes, we can recognize some of those deeper things that we’re feeling when we’re talking about what thankfulness really is.
As adults, yes, we are thankful for our families, we’re thankful for our health, we’re thankful for healthy foods and all the things that we have within our lives. But it’s important to take a moment and maybe meditate on it a moment, think on it a moment, journal about it a minute, something like that to really give us that positive feeling that goes along with feeling thankfulness.
This is what we’re gonna talk about all month long: who we’re thankful for, what we’re thankful for, how we can show it. It’s gonna be a really good, positive journey.
Thanks, and I’ll see you on the mat!
True Balance Karate was founded in 2012 by Master Sue and Paul Helsdon.
We offer kids karate lessons for pre-school children ages 3-6 and elementary age kids ages 7 and up. These lessons are designed to develop the critical building blocks kids need — specialized for their age group — for school excellence and later success in life.
Our adult martial arts training is a complete adult fitness and conditioning program for adults who want to lose weight, get (and stay) in shape, or learn self-defense in a supportive environment.
Instructors can answer questions or be contacted 24 hours of the day, 7 days a week at 630-663-2000. You can also contact us here. True Balance Karate is at 406 Ogden Ave Downers Grove Illinois, 60515 (next to CVS) Check out our Facebook!
