If the only prayer you ever say ...

Boy, have I been getting sidetracked!

My original plan was to tell my life story. To leave behind a record for Chip. But every time I start, I roll across some switch in the track and my train of thought gets diverted.

Yosemite. Menus. Screen-Free Week.

And now, today, another unexpected (but wonderful) detour: the kids left me a Gratitude Box.

They took a plain old shoebox, and with a few carefully trimmed sheets of construction paper, turned it into a life-affirming work of art. All around the edges, in big block letters, they wrote my favorite Meister Eckhart quote:

“If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.”

But they left off the last words, “it will be enough.” Instead, the words “thank you ...” end on top of the box, next to an open slot. They glued a pad of rainbow-colored Post-It notes to one side of the box, and Velcroed a 4-color ballpoint pen to the other.

I found the box on top of a library book of Ansel Adams’ black and white Yosemite photographs. Scanning the book, I came across this wonderful line:

“Yosemite Valley, to me, is always a sunrise, a glitter of green and golden wonder in a vast edifice of stone and space.”

Opening the box, I found the kids had already added the first note: “Thanks for taking us to Yosemite.”

For a minute there, I got pretty choked up. We dads can be so emotional, especially when no one is around.

​I spent the next hour filling the box with gratitude. All I can say is, we’re going to need a lot more Post-It notes.

Comments

Media Jean: Your dad sure likes his Gratitude Box.

Chip: Yeah. He’s on his second block of Post-Its.

Media Jean: It’s funny how just having a box makes you want to fill it.

Chip: Maybe we should throw in a few notes.

Media Jean: Definitely. But I had something else in mind.

Chip: What?

Media Jean: Well, what if we made 20 or 30 Gratitude Boxes?

Chip: I doubt even my dad could fill that many, and he’s a gratitude guru.

Media Jean: Not for us. For the town. I was reading “The Guerrilla Art Kit” by Keri Smith. She talks about creating art and then putting it in unexpected places, you know, to surprise people.

Chip: So we scatter Gratitude Boxes all around town?

Media Jean: Exactly! We can make them different sizes, too. One of those small tissue boxes would be perfect for stores. Put it by the tip jar in the bagel shop. I bet tips go way up!

Chip: We could put one in the post office. There’s always a line of grumpy-looking people.

Media Jean: Exactly! Tie one to the chain link fence at school.

Chip: Sneak into every doctor’s office and leave one in every waiting room.

Media Jean: On the bus.

Chip: In the library.

Media Jean: The bowling alley.

Chip: We could make a waterproof one for the park.

Media Jean: And the pool!

Chip: This is a great idea!

Media Jean: Yeah. Too bad Johnny wasn’t here. He could probably figure out a way to turn all this new-agey stuff into a product.

Chip: Yeah. He’s good at that.

Media Jean: Oh, well. I guess that’s how it is with business. You got to be in the right place at the--

Johnny: OK, OK, I’m here already!

Media Jean: I knew it! Lured you out, lurker!

Johnny: Fine, I admit I was lurking this one time. What matters now is turning this ThankYou Box into a viral product.

Chip: It’s just a box, some decorations, Post-It notes, and a pencil.

Johnny: And Coca-Cola is just sugar and carbonated water! Have you learned nothing from your time with me?

Media Jean: More than I ever wanted to know, actually.

Johnny: Very funny. Look, the most common, everyday object properly branded becomes a must-have product. Don’t think of it as a shoebox and decorations. Think “The Guerilla Gratitude Box.”

Chip: The Guerilla Gratitude Box?

Media Jean: I hate to say it, but that has a nice ring to it.

Johnny: Just wait until the cash starts rolling in!

Chip: I don’t know. Does everything have to be turned into a product?

Johnny: Are you kidding?! Of course it does!

Chip: But this is a Gratitude Box. Maybe some things should be left on a personal level.

Johnny: Please. When you turn personal expression into a consumer product, you give everyone the opportunity to benefit.

Media Jean: You mean you give everyone the opportunity to pay.

Johnny: And what’s wrong with paying if you get something out of it?

Media Jean: I suppose that’s true. And let’s face it, everyone can use more gratitude in their lives.

Johnny: Exactly! The Guerilla Gratitude Box can help an individual appreciate his or her life, motivate a family to be thankful for each other, inspire a community to come together. “The Guerilla Gratitude Box: Because ‘Thank You’ are the most important words you’ll ever say.”

Chip: Wow. I’d buy one.

Media Jean: Me too.

Johnny: We’ll sell a million of these!

Media Jean: I have to hand it to you, Johnny. You could sell anything to anyone.

Johnny: Why, thank you, Media Jean. That’s nice of you to say. Now stop idling around and get to work on those boxes!

​​Comic strip from the series "The Gratitude Journal"
(Kid, Inc. Volume 2: The Batcave of Childhood)

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