thanks

Here we have a broad term for recognition and appreciation of some beneficent deed, favor, or otherwise fruitful act. The word is its referent, in many ways; to say "thanks" is to give thanks. The utterance of the word constitutes the act itself, but despite this apparent triviality of existence, thanks are widely expected, anticipated, often even obligatory. To give thanks is to acknowledge that you are not blind to the kindness of others, even in its most trivial forms. The wave from one driver to another who has made some motorway concession is perhaps one of the best examples of this; the driver who allows another to merge ahead, or pull out of a parking lot into a busy street, has not acted in any way on his/her own behalf. The manual acknowledgement - one hand vaguely shaken as the other struggles quickly with the steering wheel to make the best of the gift - what does it communicate? Clearly it could only be that the waver is aware that the window of opportunity would not exist without the philanthropic gesture of a perfect stranger. This is the essence of thanks - "You sir, are a good guy. I salute you."

Sidenote: Once again, a day has passed without a new word. I cannot apologize enough; the lack may seem trivial to you, but a main purpose of this blog in my life is to keep me in a routine and in that I have failed. If you'll allow me, and I promise this will not be a request often made, I think I'll let these four words stand for this week's theme. I don't believe any fifth would fit quite so well anyway. As usual, feel free to make a guess, educated or otherwise.