#LettersOfGratitude

[harmonyhealinghub]

The Soldier's Last Post Shaina Tranquilino November 7, 2024

Philip Connor sat alone on his porch, the dawn just starting to edge over the hills, casting a faint light on the rows of fields stretching out beyond his farmhouse. The mornings had become his time—quiet, unburdened by the chaos that lingered in the darker hours of the night. He cradled a cup of black coffee, its warmth steadying his shaking hands, hands that had seen too much.

It had been three years since his final tour, but the memories of that last deployment clung to him like an unseen shadow. Night after night, he was yanked back to that place, forced to relive the sounds, the smells, and—most painfully—the faces of his fallen comrades. He’d seen counselors, taken medication, and tried every form of therapy he could find, yet peace seemed as distant as the deserts he had left behind.

Then, one morning, an idea struck him like a flash of lightning: letters. He would write to them, his fallen friends—Jack, Marco, and Ben, and all the others who hadn’t come home. He didn’t know why the thought had occurred to him, but it brought a calm he couldn’t explain. That very afternoon, he sat down at his old wooden desk, took a deep breath, and put pen to paper.

“Dear Jack,” he wrote, “You were the best of us. Always quick with a joke, always there to calm us down when the days turned dark.” He poured himself into the letter, letting the words carry his pain, his anger, and, yes, his gratitude. Writing was hard at first, and at moments he felt silly, foolish for talking to the dead. But he kept going, each word giving him a sense of relief he hadn't felt in years.

Each morning brought another letter. He wrote about their shared memories, the laughs, and even the arguments. Each word, he realized, was a step forward—a small release of the burden he carried.

“Dear Marco,” he penned another day, “you were the first to step forward, always ready to shield the rest of us from the worst of it. I want you to know that I’ll never forget your courage. You taught me what it means to be brave.”

One by one, he penned his thanks, and one by one, he let each friend go. Each letter transformed his pain, giving it a place outside himself. He knew these were more than just letters; they were his way of paying tribute, his way of healing.

As the last letter was finished, Philip felt something shift inside him, a gentle release. The weight that had pressed against his chest was lighter. There was an unexpected peace, fragile but real, the beginning of something he had long thought impossible.

One morning, after the final letter was sealed, Philip walked to the nearby hill where an old oak tree stood. He buried the letters beneath its roots, each one a tribute, a silent promise to live for them. As he stood beneath the morning sun, a feeling of warmth and stillness washed over him.

For the first time in years, Philip Connor felt like he was home.

[nonikhumalo]

http://www.nonikhumalo.co.za/

[teamhashtag]

49 I recently wrote a letter of thanks to a guy named Jim, who helped me quite a bit when I was young man, sharing his time and knowledge with me. I posted about it on social media, and we've since reconnected. Write a letter of gratitude to someone in your past who shaped your present for the better or made you who you are in a positive way, then share it with them if you can and post it publicly (if you're comfortable) tagged #LettersOfGratitude. Send us a pic of your letter and a link to your post. @itsakrissi @gish #gish2020 #gishitem49 #teamhashtaggish (at Germany) https://www.instagram.com/p/CAf8KO7n5O4/?igshid=1bgindf42se3j

[knightsoftardisia]

49. I recently wrote a letter of thanks to a guy named Jim, who helped me quite a bit when I was young man, sharing his time and knowledge with me. I posted about it on social media, and we've since reconnected. Write a letter of gratitude to someone in your past who shaped your present for the better or made you who you are in a positive way, then share it with them if you can and post it publicly (if you're comfortable) tagged #LettersOfGratitude. Send us a pic of your letter and a link to your post.

[jellygish]

GISH 2020 Play At Home Hunt Item #49 Letters of Gratitude by Aly  I recently wrote a letter of thanks to a guy named Jim, who helped me quite a bit when I was young man, sharing his time and knowledge with me. I posted about it on social media  https://bit.ly/LettersOfGratitude_MC  , and we've since reconnected. Write a letter of gratitude to someone in your past who shaped your present for the better or made you who you are in a positive way, then share it with them if you can and post it publicly (if you're comfortable) tagged #LettersOfGratitude. Send us a pic of your letter and a link to your post.

[certain-blue-eyes]

My second item (#49) for #playathome hunt.. @gish

[heavensenthearty]

#LettersOfGratitude

This is a trend that the one and only Misha Collins (*dreamy sigh*) started on Facebook and Twitter, and I want to follow up! It consists in us to write letters about someone we appreciate and to whom we want to thank. I want to make mine for my big brother.

His name is Hector, we were born on the same month but on different dates. He’s five years older than me.

He died three days after he was born.

When I was little, the eldest members of my family used to talk about Hector even when I was on the same room, I suppose they just didn’t think I would remember when I grew up. Back then I used to imagine how Hector looked like, my mother said he looked a lot like my dad and that he had huge hands, she said she had always wanted a boy to play baseball like she had wanted to.

As I continued to grow up, things turned very different.

My parents had divorced when I was a baby and one day my father decided that if I had one parent, then I didn’t need the other, so he vanished and didn’t contact me for many years. My mom used to talk to me all the time about how my evil grandma – her mother – had been really bad to her when she was little, and that she was determined to never be like her. She took it a whole lot too far and turned abusive from a different approach my grandma than what my grandma had taken.

My grandma neglected her children, my mother held me way too close up until suffocating me. My grandma never worried that her children did something aside from school, my mother enrolled me on many different extracurricular activities each day of the week up to the point where I had to stay awake until 4 in the morning doing homework. My grandma didn’t love her children, my mother made sure that I knew I had to make her proud, I had to love her – love her all the much that she wanted – because “she deserved it”. If I didn’t, she would tell me that I didn’t love anything and anyone, because I should love her more.

I grew up afraid of becoming those things she told me I was.

I like to go outside when I’m feeling sad, and whenever I went out after my mother yelled at me, the wind turned cool and fresh and blew around me even if it was hot outside before I went out. The same happened every time I was out and I became sad for how things were at home, the wind will hit me and I felt better afterwards.

The extracurricular classes my mom put me into were mostly about music, because she had also wanted to be a musician in her youth. I really like to play the violin, and then I learned to play piano, then I learned to play viola, then I started studying guitar. Aside from that I also learned to draw, but by myself, without any teachers, since my mother hated me drawing; she thought I didn’t love music enough as she thought I should.

People used to be amazed at all the things I could do. From my karate, my swimming, my instruments, my art, my languages… well, you get the idea.

I admit that my mother softened a little during the recent years, but that didn’t took away the pressure and pain that she put me through. I still get sad out of nowhere sometimes, and cry remembering all the things she said and did to me. I still go outside when I feel like that, and the wind does the same that it did when I was little and makes me feel better.

That I am going to be okay.

And I believe some of the things I like to do are actually Hector’s talents, and that he somehow passed them to me from Heaven, so we could be one.

Once my mother told me that when she found out she was pregnant with me she thought God was returning her lost baby to her; but I was born instead. I used to imagine that Hector had become an angel so I could have a life here. He’s the only person I know that has sacrificed himself for me.

He makes me believe I’m worthy of that love.

[teamlsg]

Item #49: I recently wrote a letter of thanks to a guy named Jim, who helped me quite a bit when I was young man, sharing his time and knowledge with me. I posted about it on social media, and we've since reconnected. Write a letter of gratitude to someone in your past who shaped your present for the better or made you who you are in a positive way, then share it with them if you can and post it publicly (if you're comfortable) tagged #LettersOfGratitude. Send us a pic of your letter and a link to your post.

[it-sounds-better-in-enochian]

#LettersOfGratitude

[sharabp]

Dear Mrs. Reinhart,

It has been many years since you were my teacher, but I wanted to let you know how much of an influence you had on me. When I look back on my school years, 3rd grade still stands out to me as one of my favorites. You made every day so much fun. I remember the piano in your room, and how you taught us songs to sing every morning. To this day a still remember bits of the cereal song. You were always so patient and positive with your students and though many memories from that year have faded I still remember how you encouraged us. I remember starting every day with a poem, a poem that you sent me a copy of when I graduated high school, a poem that I have hanging on my bathroom mirror to this day.

If you'll remember always 

There's no goal you can't achieve.

If you try your very hardest

And above all else believe.

Believe that your a person

Who has something good to give.

Believe that you can make this world

A better place to live.

If you believe your talents

And your skills are needed too.

Then you're to find

There's nothing in this world you cannot do.

There have been many times when I was struggling, that I would see the words on my mirror and stop for a moment to recite them, it really has helped me to focus sometimes.

I just wanted to thank you for being such a positive influence on my life. You taught me at a young age to believe in myself and keep a positive out look on life.

Sincerely,

Shara

[annoyinglyqueer]

Letters of Gratitude

Inspired by the 24-hour, indoor GISH scavenger hunt, I have decided to write a letter to someone from my past who has impacted my life. The first person that came to mind for me was my high school biology professor, Dr. Walck, whom I haven’t seen in over 2 years. 

Dr. Walck taught me first in junior year in her IB Biology class and then again for the second year of the course for senior year. It was in her class that I decided that I was going to pursue science in college no matter how hard things got. She had such a bright spirit and love for education and science that I found myself smiling with her, even on my worst days. 

Senior year saw a significant decline in my mental health which resulted in a series of absences and tardies while I was trying to be put on medication to help me get out of bed. She never once treated me like I was lesser or weak, while still showing me such compassion and understanding that helped me rediscover my academic purpose. She was one of the deciding factors that prevented me from dropping out after nearly 7 years of working towards an IB diploma. 

In her class, I performed my first dissection, saw my first cadaver, and watched my first live human birth (among other things). She always let me hold her class pet rat, Remi, during class and eat lunch in her classroom. She always had time, even with her excessively busy schedule, to answer questions and help me through whatever it was I was struggling with. She is the most hilarious, intelligent, and influential woman I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. Because of her, I will be going into the field of forensic science. Without her faith in me, I am not sure I would have made it to college, let alone be starting my junior year of college. I always miss seeing her in the halls and having class with her. I wish I would have expressed my gratitude better before I graduated high school. She has a treasured place in my heart, and I hope the students she has now appreciate her. You will never find a woman more dedicated to your success that Doc Walck. 

An Immensely Grateful Student, Morgan L.  

[teamgoatsgoatsgoats]

Item #49 - 

[IMAGE] 57 POINTS. I recently wrote a letter of thanks to a guy named Jim, who helped me quite a bit when I was young man, sharing his time and knowledge with me. I posted about it on social media, and we’ve since reconnected. Write a letter of gratitude to someone in your past who shaped your present for the better or made you who you are in a positive way, then share it with them if you can and post it publicly (if you’re comfortable) tagged #LettersOfGratitude. Send us a pic of your letter and a link to your post.

[team-the-weeping-angels]

#49 -  I recently wrote a letter of thanks to a guy named Jim, who helped me quite a bit when I was young man, sharing his time and knowledge with me. I posted about it on social media, and we've since reconnected. Write a letter of gratitude to someone in your past who shaped your present for the better or made you who you are in a positive way, then share it with them if you can and post it publicly (if you're comfortable) tagged #LettersOfGratitude. Send us a pic of your letter and a link to your post.

[aint-mishbehavin]

Item 49

I recently wrote a letter of thanks to a guy named Jim, who helped me quite a bit when I was young man, sharing his time and knowledge with me. I posted about it on social media, and we've since reconnected. Write a letter of gratitude to someone in your past who shaped your present for the better or made you who you are in a positive way, then share it with them if you can and post it publicly (if you're comfortable) tagged #LettersOfGratitude. Send us a pic of your letter and a link to your post.

[why-misha-why2020mh]

ITEM #49  I recently wrote a letter of thanks to a guy named Jim, who helped me quite a bit when I was young man, sharing his time and knowledge with me. I posted about it on social media, and we've since reconnected. Write a letter of gratitude to someone in your past who shaped your present for the better or made you who you are in a positive way, then share it with them if you can and post it publicly (if you're comfortable) tagged #LettersOfGratitude. Send us a pic of your letter and a link to your post. 

[glamhamm]

Lucy Letter 

She’s known me my whole life. She used to sleep 3 feet above me. She’s my best mate and she’s also my sister.  This year my sister Lucy has committed to writing and sending #LettersOfGratitude to some special people in her life. I very gratefully received mine a few weeks ago. At the time I wasn’t in a great place emotionally. I was raw, very tearful and had a really sad heart. So much difficult…