“Thank You!” “I’m Sorry.”
These are two very short, yet powerful sentences. Each one, though very simple, carries a magnitude of weight when spoken to the deserving person. It can mean the difference between hurt feelings and making someone feel appreciated and/or loved.
So why is it that these are words some people seldom speak? Why is it so terribly hard to say “thank you” and “I’m sorry”? If you time yourself, you will find it takes less than one second to say either one of them, yet the effects of these little words can last for hours or even days.
Of course, of the two sentences, far more people find it hardest to speak the words, “I’m sorry”. You see, saying “I’m sorry” requires one to feel something other than superiority. It requires them to either feel sympathy for someone else’s misfortune or loss, or to feel regret over a wrong doing they have committed against another.
Are we such a self centered society that many feel they are above saying such heart felt words? Have we been forced to harden ourselves against the feelings required to be able to speak these words with true feeling?
Every day it seems the news is telling of another murder, another attack on a country somewhere, another suicide bombing or hostage situation. The list could continue on and on. Certainly these events take a toll on ones emotions to a certain extent. It’s only natural to subconsciously build a protective barrier against having to feel sadness or empathy for the suffering caused by the numerous malicious attacks occurring throughout the world. But at what cost?
Are we cheating ourselves from feeling real emotions? Are we cheating our friends, family and loved ones the benefit of hearing these words when they deserve to? If we are unable to feel sadness and regret, how can we say these simple words and really FEEL them?
If we don’t feel thankful (“Thank you”), if we don’t feel sorrow or regret (“I’m sorry”), then we are simply verbalizing, and not truly meaning what we say.
Have we, as a society, lost the ability to feel anything towards our fellow citizens, or have we simply placed ourselves above them to the point we don’t feel they deserve to hear these two heart felt sentiments?
Things that make you go, “hmmm…”
