Thank you …. 2 little words that can be used 2 different ways either for good or in some ways to hurt , you would be surprised how just 2 words can be used for different things . These 2 words have been and will be used I guess in both ways forever these days as we all seem to do what everyone else does and do not think for ourselves anymore we are too much like sheep following a shepherd . Makes you wonder if you do any thinking at all how many other words get used in several different ways rather than the main 1 they were intended for . So many things change and so many things stay the same but changing the use of words seems to be on going we seem to do it all the time , just see how many times dictionaries get changed , words added or words taken out as no longer valid it is always happening .
Anyway back to the 2 words I started with , let us start with the good side like if someone does something nice for you , or is polite to you , or gives you something , then when you say thank you , you mean it in a nice way and whoever you said it to gets a nice feeling for having done something nice for someone else instead of just ignoring them and staying in their own little world . Gives you , well it does me , when I do something for someone and they say thank you it makes me feel good , and makes me want to help someone again sometime . Thank you is something that has the power to make someone’s day if they have said or done something nice for someone else . Today sadly these 2 words today are hardly ever heard as most people do not use them anymore as they are words learned when you learn respect , but again sadly that too is something that is not taught anymore and explains why thank you is very rarely used in the nice way it used to be . Saying thank you is so easy to do too and that makes it even more sad that it is too hard for some people to do .
Thank you ,as I said before can also be used in a hurtful way , it can be used as an insult when someone thinks someone else has hurt them , as in they look at you and say well ” thank you ” with a sneer and you know they mean to hurt you with it . Whether the hurt from the person is real or conceived it can still be hurtful to say it that way to someone else , but all too often it still get said like that . Even if the slight people think has been done to them is true there is no need to be hurtful to others , we should try to be nice that costs us nothing at all . Too many people though tend to like being upset and have a need to ” get back ” at someone they think has hurt them so if there is no other way they become sarcastic and the thank you they say then is very hurtful . Thank you was always meant to be a good thing meaning that someone was happy about something someone has done for them but given the way the world has twisted things now it can be used to hurt and that is sad .
To be honest I think most people have at one time or another used these words both ways but I personally try only to use them as they were intended as an expression of thanks . Thinking of saying thank you , have you ever been just walking around a shopping center and listened ? Hearing just what people say to say shop attendants ? Attendants who have helped them out and got them what they needed or wanted then they either just walk off , or say such an off handed thank you that it means nothing ? There are those too who having got what they needed say thank you and really mean it and you can see how much it means to the person attending them , a little bit of being polite goes a very long way and can make the attendant feel worthwhile . It takes so little to be nice but even this tiny little bit of being nice seems to be too hard for most people these days and it can mean so much . Having been a shop assistant myself once I know how much that nicely said and mean thank you means when you have been on your feet for long hours , it really helps trust me .
What we need to try and do , but I am afraid will not be done too often is to try and teach the younger ones respect , then they will know that to say thank you is the right thing to do when someone does a nice thing for them . I know I for one will always be thankful when someone helps me and would just love to see more people being thankful as well as it is not hard to do , seems just normal to me to do it . Also it is part of what we call manners and like respect now is sadly not taught anymore it seems , think back over the last few days , has someone been nice to you ? Did you say thank you ? Maybe the problem starts with you , the one who didn’t say thank you ? How will the young learn if the older ones do not teach them ? Sigh ..the world these days is too full of people only wanting to look after themselves to bother to take the time to teach the young ones , so all they learn from what they see is how to be disrespectful .
Useless fact: Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia is the fear of long words…
That awkward moment when the awkward moment you thought was awkward isn’t awkward it’s just awkward ’cause you think it’s awkward but no one else does… now that’s awkward…..