|
I was recently the recipient of an
unexpected and generous expression of gratitude, and it felt so
wonderful! Here’s what happened:
Fifty years ago, I learned to speak
Portuguese while living in Brazil for a couple of years. Upon my
return to the United States, I completed my undergraduate degree with a
double major in Portuguese and political science. But then I lived for
many, many years in places where I had no opportunity to converse in
Portuguese. Over time I lost a lot of my vocabulary, my fluency, and
especially my confidence in this second language.
A few weeks ago, José and Nara, a
recently-immigrated Brazilian couple who speak very little English,
retained me to prepare wills and a trust for them. I was forced to
dust off my out-of-practice Portuguese in order to understand their wishes
for themselves and their sons, and then to draft (in English, thankfully)
the appropriate documents. Fortunately, they were very gracious and
patient with me and my rusty Portuguese. As we worked together, we
developed a genuine friendship and appreciation for each other.
During our last meeting, after I
had finished explaining a dozen documents for them to sign, and while
Angie, my paralegal, was making copies, the couple excused themselves to go
to their car. When they returned to my office, they were carrying an
enormous basket (pictured above) for me, and a separate gift bag for
Angie. Both were filled with an abundance of Brazilian sweets, treats,
and other goodies. Some were delights I remembered from my time years
ago in Brazil, while others were new to me.
This lovely couple’s expression of
gratitude caught me totally off guard, and the sheer enormity of the basket
completely blew me away. They said what they appreciated most was that
I pressed forward in Portuguese as well as I could, notwithstanding my
obvious difficulty in speaking in a tongue mostly dormant to me. That,
they said, lifted and encouraged them as they struggled to complete their
own daunting task of doing their estate planning in English, a language
equally difficult for them.
I took the basket home where my
wife and I opened and savored each delicacy, turning our impromptu tasting
party into a decadent substitute for supper.
Later, as I reflected on their
outrageously wonderful EXPRESSION OF GRATITUDE, I asked myself, how many
times have I missed the opportunity to demonstratively express my
appreciation to those who have served, sustained, or sacrificed for
me? How often have I overlooked occasions when I could have left
others with the same level of joy I experienced when I received this huge
basket of Brazilian gratitude?
Thank you, José and Nara, for the
sweet lesson you taught me. From being the fortunate recipient of your
gratitude, I better understand, to paraphrase Gertrude Stein, that “silent
gratitude isn’t much good to anyone.”
I have resolved that I will more
attentively look for ways to demonstrate my appreciation to
others who have blessed my life. I realize that I can best say thank
you for kindnesses like José and Nara’s by paying it forward. “One
can never pay in gratitude; one can only pay 'in kind' somewhere else in
life." Anne Morrow Lindbergh
|
No comments:
Post a Comment