Gratitude.......

Joy... is always an integral part of Appreciation; whether you are on the GIVING or RECEIVING end thereof.....(HJ'17)

Gratitude.... A much forgotten token of appreciation.

If you read..... a recent front page story of the SF Chronicle, you
would have read about a female humpback whale who had become entangled
in a spider web of crab traps and lines.
She was weighted down by hundreds of pounds of traps that caused her to struggle to stay afloat. She also had hundreds of yards of line rope wrapped around her
body, her tail, her torso, a line tugging in her mouth.

A fisherman spotted her just east of the Farallon Islands (outside the Golden Gate) and radioed an environmental group for help.
Within a few hours, the rescue team arrived and determined that she was so bad off, the only way to save her was to dive in and untangle her. They worked for hours with curved knives and eventually freed her.
When she was free, the divers say she swam in what seemed like joyous circles.
She then came back to each and every diver, one at a time, and nudged them, pushed them gently around as she was thanking them. Some said it was the most incredibly beautiful experience of their lives.
The guy who cut the rope out of her mouth said her eyes were following him the whole time, and he will never be the same.

May you, and all those you love, be so blessed and fortunate to be surrounded by people who will help you get untangled from the things that are 'binding'  you...

And ........... may you always know the Joy of Giving and Joy of Receiving Gratitude.