The ART of saying THANK YOU 2.0

The ART of saying THANK YOU 2.0

or: when did saying Thank you get out of style?

 

To say it right in the beginning-this has turned into the longest Blogpost I have ever written-but I there are some things you just can not express in only 3 sentences. Please take the time to read-because I think it holds some important Information . . . thanks so much <3

 

My Blog is supposed to be a “happy Place” and usually I NEVER share any negative things on here-I think our everyday Lifes are filled with enough negativity already-so readings Blogs, surfing the Web etc. should be fun & positive & uplifting-not about negative thoughts . . . BUT . . . every now and then we have to break a rule and that’s what I will do today-not being sure if that’s the right decision but sometimes you have to take risks to “change the world” . . . I might lose some followers and Blogreaders-but well-I just need to get one thing off my chest . . . it is about saying “Thank You” and showing some appreciation for something in times of Internet, Social Media & Co. . . .

 

I have noticed this “trend” a couple of times over the past months already-not only on my Blog but also on other lovely Blogs where people like you & me share good value with “the world”-share things they put time & effort into to make others happy . . .! Conversations with some crafty blogger friends showed that almost all of them feel this way-and it is sad and disappointing at the same time . . .! I have been close to that point-writing a Blogpost like that-a couple of times before, but right now it just feels right . . .

 

 

Imagine the following Situation-you walk down the Street-and somebody (let us say a person who’s living in the same street-so you occasionally met that person before-maybe chatted every now & then when you both walked the dogs-it is not a complete stranger-but not a close friend either-so “something in between”) . So you walk down the street and that person will hand you a little gift-nothing big-just a little something-maybe some homemade Christmas Cookies nicely wrapped up in a cute bag and decorated with love . . .! What would you do?

let us pretend you do not choose the option to just pass her by, ignore her and do not take the little gift . . . let us just pretend you will take it and you look at it and you really like it-you see that lots of time & effort & love went into making it-and that person is sharing it with YOU-is giving to YOU-without expecting anything in return . . . this person is just giving it to you because she can-and she wants to-because she wants to share something and wants to bring a little joy into our life-just a random act of kindness . . .! Okey-back to the general Question . . . you take the little Gift and what would you do then???

Chances are-you say “Thank you!”-along with something else maybe-like “That’s so sweet of you to share this-it looks yummy and so cute-this little Random act of Kindness really made my Day!”! Okey-even if it is a plain “Thank you”-but you would (I assume) never just take it without saying anything and walk on . . . would you?

 

 

So-back from this little Metaphor to what I initially wanted to write about . . . the initial point is-in our fast moving world-Mobile Phone here-Tablet there-Laptop here and Computer there-surfing Blogs, checking Instagram, pinning on Pinterest, surfing Facebook . . . the list goes on . . . did it get “out of style” to say “Thank you”-to show some appreciation when somebody shares something with us?!?  Maybe it is asked to much, because online we are anonymous-nobody knows we are surfing this Blog-nobody knows we are saving the images, downloading the files, watching the videos,  . . . so why bother to say something we would do “in real life”-like “Thank you!”? Nobody knows and nobody cares anyway-right?!?

 

But stop . . . I can promise you one thing: WE DO! We? We . . . the people behind all those Blogs, YouTube Channels, Instagram Accounts, Facebook Pages . . . we DO care!

 

Clicking a “like Button” is one thing-that’s a good start and pretty nice-but leaving a little Comment on a Blogpost or on a Facebook share just with two little words like “Thank you!” . . . it takes like 10 seconds maybe?!? Well-if there are not 10 stupid captcha code fields stopping you from leaving your comment-but that’s another story (that’s me trying to put at least a little bit of humor into this post) And believe it or not-it makes our Days! It makes us happy to read a simple “Thank you!”-“Appreciate it!”-“Downloaded it -thanks!”-“Watched it-thanks!” . . . because there is nothing like other people showing a little gratitude and appreciation for what we put plenty of time & heart into.

Sharing is caring . . . absolutely . . . but saying “Thank you!” for something somebody shared is caring to . . . caring about the person who created / shared / spend time offering others something for free! And chances are good, that person you show your appreciation and your thankfulness to feels so good about it-she might sit down again very soon to create something fun AGAIN to share with the world for free-because she KNOWS people appreciate it and that it makes other people happy . . .

 

let us make it a little more concrete-let us take the Wallpaper Downloads I shared here on my Blog yesterday as an example. I put hours and hours of work into this single Blogpost and into making those Wallpapers-I painted the Image-filmed & edited & uploaded the Video-I scanned the Image-I edited it in Photoshop-I researched about different Screensizes & -resolutions so most of you will be able to put them to use-I edited the Image in Photoshop to make it fit all those different Resolutions & Screen sizes for PC, Tablet & Mobile Phone-I composed the Blogpost-I realized I still need some Sample-Images of the Wallpapers “in action”-so grabbed the camera again-took some more photos-edited them again for the Blogpost-all of this took me several hours from start until I finally could hit the “publish” Button . . . whoooom . . . of it goes into Cyberspace . . . happy all those hours of work finally ended up in this finished Blogpost where I share something for free with all of my Blogreaders-just because I can-just because I care-just because I am super grateful for all of my loyal followers and friends out there and just because I want to give something to them that maybe-just maybe will bring them joy and will put a smile on their faces.

 

Sharing is caring and usually it gives so much back-let us say I share and I teach some children for free-showing them how to make some Mixed Media Art Pieces . . . I give a couple of hours of my time “for free”-asking nothing in return-but I get back SO MUCH-happy faces, shining eyes, proud kids that show off their work, kids that feel empowered-kids that feel like they are an artist (and they truly ARE)-parents that are happy and thankful (and they even tell you-for realz-they say “Thank you!” “Thank you so much for your time-for the time you took to “play” and make some Art with the Kids-you made their Day!”) . . . so sharing what you have usually is a win-win,  even if you do it for free-or maybe especially then . . . because receiving a plain old “Thank you!” for your work and for what you share sometimes means so much more than the “ka-ching” on your bank account!

 

But when you share something with an (more or less) anonymous audience on the Internet-it is taken in a different way than it would be “in real life”. it is taken as “normal”-it is so “taking it for granted”-most of the time. it is online-it is free-let us grab it and move on . . .! So sorry if this sounds harsh-it is not meant to-and do not get me wrong-there are many people who appreciate things that are shared online for free-that DO take the time to say “Thank you!” -that do share & post and express their gratitude-but those are very few . . . the majority . . . well . . . you guess . . .

 

I knoooow-life is busy-and we do not always have the time to comment on each & every Blogpost we enjoyed, to comment on each & every Facebook Share and Instagram Photo . . . and believe me-I would be the one sitting in the glasshouse and throwing stones here-I do not always comment on Blogposts I enjoy-just because I do not have time to do so each & every time . . . but I always try to leave a comment every now & then and I definitely leave a “Thank you” Note in the Comments when somebody offers something I download / will use . . . because  I know that lots of time & love went into making this-and this person is sharing it with me for free-how super lovely and thoughtful is that?

 

This really makes me wonder and think if it makes sense at all in our fast moving time to put your heart and many hours of work into something you share with others for free online. I could have spend a Day with my Hubby-we could have visited a Christmas Market-then we could have went to the Cinema watching a Movie-then when we returned home we could have snuggled up on the couch, reading a good book and enjoying a cup of hot chocolate . . . talking . . . laughing . . . sharing quality time . . . instead he was sitting on the couch all alone-while I went crazy over screen-formats and making sure that the Watercolor Painting I wanted to share with the world would look good on each & every Device . . . with a blurry mind I finished working on it at 1.30 am . . . when by Hubby was sound asleep already . . .!

But guess what-I was happy-I was full of joy because I knew the work would be worth it-it would spread some joy . . . so I did not regret a single minute working on it.

Well . . . hands down?!? Right now I maybe do . . . picking the first scenario (spending time with Hubby and snuggling up on the couch enjoying a good book) all of a sudden sounds like the Choice I better should have made-because what I am asking myself now . . . was it worth it? Was it worth spending all those hours working on something people like and take (and obviously they do-as the graphic below shows-and that’s only after less than 24 hours)-but MOST people do not even take 10 seconds to say “Thank you!” for?!? (So-SOME of your showed their appreciation on Facebook, Instagram etc.-do not get me wrong-I read all those Comments and really appreciate them a lot-so this does not go out to those of you)

 

 

So-let us come back one more time to the Metaphor I used in the beginning-this time let us pretend you are the person who is giving the homemade Cookies as a gift to somebody JUST BECAUSE-because you wanted to spread some joy-because you wanted to give a random act of kindness . . . and let us pretend that person just grabs the Cookies you spend so much time on baking, decorating, wrapping them up nicely . . . the person just grabs them and walks on-no word-no “Thank you!”-nothing (well-if you think facebooky maybe the person lifts her thumb for a second as a sign of appreciation) . . . how would you feel? And how would you feel about doing something like this (giving things JUST BECAUSE-giving RAKS) again in the future? Would you do it again? Spend hours in the kitchen on preparing something others will take but show no real appreciation for? Just answer it for yourself . . .!

 

If and how we express our “Thank you” is so important-ESPECIALLY in times of Internet, of everything being there right at our Fingertips-in times of over-delivery-because it has a big influence on how the person that is GIVING something feels about it-feels about making something and sharing it for free with others-currently and in the future.

 

Guess that’s all I have to say right now . . . and as soon as I click the publish Button here I will turn off the Computer and spend some Quality Time offline . . . slightly afraid that what I just posted might ruin it all for me . . . yet happy and proud I did share it-I did click the “publish” button-happy I got this off my chest and out into the world-because in the end this is life-this is keeping it real-it is not always and everything sunny & sparkling & all fun . . . and if only a few people have read this till the end and will think about it and keep it in mind for the future-maybe not here on my Blog-but also on all those other amazing Blogs & Websites out there that make your Days better & happier with all the Goodness they share with the world . . . AKA with you . . . it was so worth writing all of this down and sharing it and it is even worth taking the risk of loosing blogreaders & followers who do not agree with me on that . . .

 

PLEASE note that I do not speak about specific people here and that I am not standing here pointing my finger at people or at my lovely Blogreaders-it is just a general thing that I kind of realized over the past months and I just had to get that off my chest-finally . . . so: bring on the consequences . . .

 

And as a final Note: a BIG HEARTFELT THANK YOU to all of you out there who DO leave Comments, who DO take the time to say “Thank you!” and who DO take the time to show some appreciation-even on the Internet where you do not “have to”-but you do it anyway-because you want to! You ROCK-you are the ones that keep me (and other creatives out there) going and YOU are the Reason why I probably will be spending hours and hours again very soon, preparing some Wallpapers for January for you to download . . .