May/June 2008 Editor's Viewpoint
Using Email in a Gratitude Practice

by Vicky Thompson

Email has become the easiest way to practice an attitude of gratitude. Appreciation is a form of gratitude, a key ingredient in a simple practice of acknowledging the kindness of others.

Gratitude makes you aware of everyday abundances - friends, family and the gift of their time. Technology simplifies the process of recognizing others who have made a difference in your life. You've got mail is a code word for you are important.

Gratitude focuses your heart on what you have in the present, affirming your spiritual faith in the presence of spirit in daily life. When you recognize the contributions of others to your well-being, you share your spiritual faith with abundance.

Email is a simple yet powerful medium for thanking others. Following the lead of famous letter writers, here are five tips for crafting inspiring emails, plus a handy text message version for those with speedy thumbs.

Be specific. Express gratitude for each act of kindness. In a 1913 letter from playwright George Bernard Shaw to actress Beatrice Campbell, he acknowledges her graces, telling her that he wants her in his life: I want the lighter of my seven lamps of beauty, honor, laughter, music, love, life and immortality. Text: U lyt my fyr.

Be sincere. Write from the heart, sharing how the person has changed your life. Poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning bared her soul in a letter to her husband, poet Robert Browning, in the mid-1800s: You have touched me more profoundly than I thought even you could have touched me - my heart was full when you came here today. Henceforward I am yours for everything. Text: Im yrz.

Use humor. Let others know that you care by making them laugh, like Jane Austen did in a 1798 letter to her sister Cassandra: You deserve a longer letter than this, but it is my unhappy fate seldom to treat people so well as they deserve. Text: Hi bye.

Use motivation. Show appreciation for the good works of others by inspiring them with supportive words. In a 1990 letter, Mother Teresa encouraged her followers to continue their humanitarian efforts: This brings you my prayer and blessing for each one of you - my love and gratitude to each one of you for all you have been and have done all these 40 years to share the joy of loving each other and the poorest of the poor. Text: Lov n thx TU.

Take their breath away. You know that your words have pierced like Cupid's arrow when you leave the recipient speechless. In her reply to her husband, poet William Wordsworth, Mary Wordsworth wrote in 1810: It is not in my power to tell thee how I have been affected by this dearest of all letters - it was so unexpected - so new a thing to see the breathing of thy inmost heart upon paper that I was quite overpowered. Text: YTMBA.

- Vicky Thompson