The Arigatou Project

I wasn't going to post about this until next week but today had two beautiful moments that I wanted to share.

I always try to practice gratitude because it's one of the only things in life where you don't lose anything by giving. It's always a net positive.

Since I am leaving Toyohashi tomorrow morning I wanted to thank a few people who were part of my time here. It wasn't your typical list. It wasn't about friends and acquaintances. My list involved the 50-year-old flower shop I once bought flowers from, the Turkish Kebab guy who gave me free kebabs the first time we met, the 42-year-old cafe where I had my first breakfast. It was a list of around 10. I want to share 2 of those here, the rest I will talk about in my video.

The first encounter that surprised me was at the flower shop. It's run by two old people. I bought flowers there last year and they were really welcoming. We had a great chat. When I entered the shop and gave the old shopkeeper a gift of gratitude, he was surprised. It took some time for him to remember but as soon as I said Bangladesh, he remembered me. He was really surprised but happy. We talked a bit and then before leaving he gave me this flower. There was no need for him to do this, I refused it but he insisted.

The second encounter was at the 42-year-old cafe. It's run by an old woman. She does everything by herself. I had food there twice. The second time we had a great chat. As soon as I entered the shop today, she remembered me and I was surprised. She remembered our last encounter vividly. Seeing my gift she was really surprised. She thanked me and told me to sit for coffee. She offered me breakfast. For the next 30 minutes, we had an amazing conversation. She told me about the history of her shop and asked me about my family and Bangladesh. She asked me why I took the trouble to thank her. We also talked about the importance of gratitude. If I wasn't in a rush we probably would have talked till evening. But sadly I had to leave.

I headed out today to thank these people without any expectations. I even felt a bit awkward approaching some of them. But I am glad I did. See less