What Happened to 'THANK YOU's'.
A few days back, i decided to take a stroll around my neighbourhood to go and buy a few things at the grocery shop nearby.Just before i entered the shop, i met an elderly man who was on his way out of the shop i was about to enter. He entered his car and attempted to start the engine but the battery tripped and he couldn't. I noticed it and realized he had no idea about how to fix it.
I approached him and asked him to open the bonnet of the car so i could tighten the terminals on the battery.The car started on the first attempt after i had tightened the terminals. The man then proceeded out of his car and approached me ostensibly to pay me for the little help i rendered. I respectfully declined his offer and so he went back to his car and drove off. He did not say THANK YOU but i believe he genuinely forgot probably because he did not expect me to refuse the money he offered to give me.
I asked myself after he left,why was giving me money for the small help i offered the first thought that came to his mind instead of just saying thank you?
I shudder to think that maybe this is how fast money is eroding the small things that make life beautiful. In Ghana today, almost every kind gesture is no more free.I have come across people who demanded money for showing me directions to places i couldn't find my way.
I am sure you have had similar encounters. When you walk to a public place for a service that the public servants have been paid to provide,you are made to feel that saying thank you is not sufficient and that you must top it up with money. This has become so consistent across most parts of our country that it is fast becoming part of our psyche as a people that a thank you is never enough till it is decorated with money or other material things.
For me, saying 'Thank You' should be enough when you help a brother/sister because it conveys the essence our humanity.
I approached him and asked him to open the bonnet of the car so i could tighten the terminals on the battery.The car started on the first attempt after i had tightened the terminals. The man then proceeded out of his car and approached me ostensibly to pay me for the little help i rendered. I respectfully declined his offer and so he went back to his car and drove off. He did not say THANK YOU but i believe he genuinely forgot probably because he did not expect me to refuse the money he offered to give me.
I asked myself after he left,why was giving me money for the small help i offered the first thought that came to his mind instead of just saying thank you?
I shudder to think that maybe this is how fast money is eroding the small things that make life beautiful. In Ghana today, almost every kind gesture is no more free.I have come across people who demanded money for showing me directions to places i couldn't find my way.
I am sure you have had similar encounters. When you walk to a public place for a service that the public servants have been paid to provide,you are made to feel that saying thank you is not sufficient and that you must top it up with money. This has become so consistent across most parts of our country that it is fast becoming part of our psyche as a people that a thank you is never enough till it is decorated with money or other material things.
For me, saying 'Thank You' should be enough when you help a brother/sister because it conveys the essence our humanity.
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