“I had forgotten how much light there is in the world, till you gave it back to me.” – Ursula K. LeGuin

“A man is happy so long as he chooses to be happy.” – Aleksander Solzhenitsyn

“Hope is a force of nature. Don’t let anyone tell you different.” – Jim Butcher

Thank you. Whatever it is, everyone everywhere has words to express it. It’s one of the first phrases we learn in a new language. We learn hello and good bye, thank you and you’re welcome. I find it heartening that those words are what we first focus on when trying to communicate. It reminds me that most of us don’t view strangers as enemies. We’re open to reaching out and trying new things, whether they’re languages or food.

I’ve lived in a few places, and visited a few more. Everywhere I went I learned how to say thank you just like the locals. Thank you seemed to be less affected by local slang than you’re welcome, which had a myriad of variations. I remember my thank yous much better than my you’re welcomes. What is the point of this?

To have a reason to say thank you, we must assume that there will be some reason to express gratitude. No matter where we go, or who we expect to encounter, we learn the ways to tell another person that we appreciate them. What that says about our fellow humans is something to hang onto and remember when someone is trying to convince us that the world is an ugly place with ugly people ready to hurt us, or take advantage of us, at every turn. If that were the way of things, we would have very different phrases as our default.

Here’s my few thank yous: Merci, Merci beaucoup, Danke, Danke Schon, Gracias, Muchas gracias, どーも(domo)

And my few you’re welcomes: De rien, Merci de rien, Pas de souci, Pas de quoi, Bitte, Bitte schon, Bitte sehr, Nichts zu danken, De nada.

There’s French, German, Spanish, Japanese, Alsace patois, and Cajun French in that mix. If you’d like to add any, please comment where they’re from and feel free to add any information you like. Let’s assume that we’ll need to tell others just how much we appreciate them long before we meet them.

Thank you. This is Friday’s post in advance.