I had the opportunity recently to say, “Thank you” to two persons who first influenced me over four decades ago; one has terminal cancer, the other is recovering from a stroke. Both are in their 80s, and interestingly . . . the two have been best friends for coming up on 70 years.

Thank you. These are powerful words, are they not? If you’ve been fortunate enough to hear them said to YOU, what a priceless blessing that is! But I have found that saying them to someone else, someone who truly has made a positive difference in your life, is life-giving not just to the hearer, but also to the sayer.

There are several tests for the influence someone has had on you:

• Do you often quote them?
• Do they come to mind when you are in a situation where words of wisdom are needed (and you think to yourself, “Now what would ______ do/say right now?”)
• Do you function differently, or think about things differently, or approach things differently, in a way that mirrors what they taught you?
• Do you find yourself smiling whenever you think of them?

The two gentlemen I spoke with recently certainly register a “YES” response to each of the tests above. Each is unique (to say the least); one is more widely known than the other, but the influence each one has had upon the other is apparent, too. One is married, with three grown children; the other has never married but has been single all his life.

Both have shaped my perspective dramatically. It was an inestimable pleasure to tell each of them that very thing; I included concrete examples, memories, words shared, etc. This was not just a simple, “Thanks for everything!” Rather, it was a detailed recollection of specific instances remembered, and a revealing of how those instances have lived on in my life.

Each man was grateful to hear the words. Of course. And they thanked me; “it made my day,” one said. But what surprised me was what the whole experience did for me. I felt light as a feather, almost boyish again, full of excitement and energy. Because before someone with pivotal influence in my life . . . died, and passed from this realm to another, I had the chance to boldly and elaborately say, “thank you” for making a profound difference in my life.

I have quoted these men for years. And now . . . I have let them know just what they’ve meant to me.

I’ve done this before with firefighters, police and paramedics, etc. And no matter the response (for the responses are quite varied) it is always a great thing to do. Just an hour or so ago I thanked a county police officer for his service. It can be a soldier, a nurse, doctor, teacher, pastor, waitress . . . there are so many people who pour good things into our lives.

Almost seven years ago I had a 100% blockage in my left anterior descending artery (LAD, the infamous “widow maker”); I was saved from death by the valiant efforts of my family and a series of first responders (paramedics, catheter nurses, and cardiologists, etc) who came to my aid in the middle of the night, being roused from their own valuable sleep because they were “on call.” I did not have to force myself to seek them out and thank them; I did so readily. I even went back to thank them again on the anniversary of the event.

The giving of the words “Thank You” to someone who truly has been indispensable in your life . . . that is a priceless experience. I was able, in varying degrees, to say those words to both my father and my mother before they left this earth. Was it enough? No! I should have said MUCH MORE. But it was an attempt.

If you have living parents, relatives, friends, teachers, employers who influenced you – TELL THEM SO! You will not be disappointed. This experience does, indeed. come HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! So, get on your phone, or jot a note and mail it, etc. Or even print it in the sand. Don’t wait another day.

P.S. If you have someone to thank who has already passed from this life, do not despair. If you can go to a grave site to talk with them, GO! If you can write them a letter that can never be mailed, DO SO anyway! If you can tell someone that also knew them well (like a sibling), then DO THAT! The truth is: the telling will change you even if they cannot hear you.