Reader Feedback on As I See It: The Other "Tude"

Published: December 4, 2006

Victor Rozek's column about Thanksgiving and gratitude, As I See It: The Other "Tude", seems to have struck a big chord with readers of The Four Hundred. Which absolutely makes sense, because it was an excellent column. Here's what readers (many of whom did not sign their emails) had to say, at length and with brevity:

I am grateful for Victor Rozek and his column. I am also grateful for IT Jungle. It is one of the best at what it does. Your entire team deserves a great Thanksgiving. You are making a difference.

--ryoung

Thank you :-)

--e04408

I appreciated your article on being grateful for what we have rather than being sour over what we don't have. It's a great way to look at each day. I agree that forgiveness is a powerful, and overlooked, virtue and we should practice it more.

I am a deacon and Sunday school teacher at a Baptist church in Missouri as well as a senior programmer for a Medicaid health plan. Just thought I'd mention that so you knew where I was coming from.

I won't preach, and I don't wish to be insulting, I'm just curious--to whom are you grateful? It's one thing to have a heart of gratitude, where we appreciate all of the good things around us, but it's another thing to give thanks for those things. While gratitude and thanksgiving are very similar, there is a difference between appreciating something and thanking someone or something. (Well maybe I preached a little.)

I always read your articles. I always find them to be well thought out. Thanks for your time.

--Brett

Very refreshing article!

I very much look forward to reading IT Jungle. Thank you very much for great articles, advice, information on upcoming events. . .

Excellent publications!

--Cheryl

I was grateful for your article on gratitude! No forgiveness needed.

I would only add that the real test for all of us is to be grateful for what we have even if we lose all the comforts we enjoy. The Pilgrims had none of these but adopted the Apostle Paul's advice, "In everything give thanks. . . " and his ability to be content in all circumstances.

BTW. We all do lose these things eventually. As someone said, a hearse is not a moving van. Or something. Anyway, we cannot take it with us, so you are wise to enjoy what you have.

P.S. I copied the chief because I copied him on a complaint last time.

--Ed

WELL SAID!

Thank you for a timely message. I will share this particular article more than any of the fine articles from this journal, to date. In the effort to constantly become better professionally, it is important to work on being a better human being, as well.

I have included my e-mail address, merely to confirm that I do mean what I have said. I'm certain Miss Manners would not require a thank you note for a thank you note. You already have enough to do in providing a much enjoyed and very valuable publication.

Gratefully and most sincerely,

--Peyton

Thanks for the article on gratitude. I have read many articles on gratitude and try to practice it everyday, but I had never read such an article in a business publication.

Gratitude for a job, rather than entitlement, described my experience with a major corporation for 20+ years. I appreciated the company and the company appreciated me. The job became much less enjoyable when the company in later years decided that all employees were interchangeable parts that represented an expense rather than an investment.

Today, I have my own company. I am grateful for each of my customers and they are grateful for me. Once again, business life is very wonderful and I enjoy working each day.

Thanks for the reminder.

--JP

Some may take issue with your article on gratitude, but I thought it was wonderful. It was so astoundingly beautiful, that I wept as I read it. I have not read an article yet, by you, that has disappointed me. Please keep them coming, and have a wonderful holiday season.

--Paula

Thank you, sir, for this wonderful piece! I always look forward to your columns in IT Jungle, as they help me to "look beyond" the day to day to consider things from a different perspective.

Sincerely,

--Kenneth

Thanks for another thought provoking article.

--Ed

Your articles have become a refreshing perspective on many of the topics facing not just IT folks, but the population as a whole. I look forward to each of them, and often share them as they are one of the few 'e-mail' type things I forward to others.

Have you ever thought of creating an anthology of your articles and publishing them in book form? I think you'd sell a ton of copies, and probably make a best seller list, too.

Regards,

--Gerald