The Ripple Effect of Gratitude

Noticing the people behind the scrubs

In the stark, antiseptic corridors of a hospital, it’s easy to forget that behind every clipboard and stethoscope is a person with dreams, challenges, and a unique story.

I’ve had some health challenges in the recent past making visits to the hospital more routine than I want, but as I sit in the waiting room for the next scan or the next blood draw or the next consult, I create little tokens of appreciation.

They’re more than tiny works of art — they are a social experiment in kindness. And the results have been unsurprisingly consistent: kindness breeds kindness.

In preparation for my most recent visit, I packed a handful of mixed media tags, each bearing a simple message of gratitude.

While the medical assistant readied the cuff to take my blood pressure reading, she asked if I was doing ok.

I responded with a wry smile, “Mostly yes, aside from the 4 a.m. wake up call!”

“Let me guess! You have a newborn!” she said empathetically.

I chuckled and replied, “No, the human child is 10 now, but I have a fur baby who threw up this morning!”

Silent breath in and out … as she packed up the blood pressure machine, I handed her a little token of appreciation.

Her fatigued eyes sparkled as she went “awww” and started telling me all about Luigi, her little terrier who starts barking at the crack of dawn!

Her son’s name is Mario. Her twin girls are off to college now but she loves when they came home and painted her nails.

As she and I conversed, we were no longer nurse and patient — just fellow humans sharing a bit of our lives with each other…

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She walked me into the room where I wrote out a couple more notes.

The nurse came in, efficient, professional and very quiet as she checked my vitals.

She asked routine questions about allergies to medications, updates to health history, confirmed my pharmacy preference and ended with “Ok, the doctor will be in, soon.”

“Before you go, here’s something for you,” I said meekly offering up another token of appreciation.

As she reached for it, I noticed a tattoo on her forearm. It said “224.”

As I remarked how beautiful the font was, she smiled and said, “My best friend has the same one!”

It stood for today, tomorrow and forever, she explained, and then she showed me some more of her ink work.

We chatted about angel numbers and small blessings. She left the room with well wishes for me and a lightness in her step.

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I have a decade-long history with my doc and he has been at the receiving end of many little tokens of appreciation over the years.

But that doesn’t stop me from giving him some more.

When he stepped in, he had an intern tagging along. This young, hopeful-looking lady eager to learn. As he looked over my charts, I asked the intern her name and wrote a note for her.

It was a moment I won’t forget for a while.

Her smile touched her eyes as she meekly said, “Thank you! I’ll always keep this.”

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These interactions, sparked by a simple gesture of gratitude, helped me see each person as someone having a life beyond these walls, filled with hopes, struggles, and moments of joy — much like me.

In a place where people often feel overworked, unthanked and anonymous, these small tokens spark joy, recognition, and a sense of shared humanity.

I share my experience as a reminder of an often-overlooked truth: gratitude is not just a feeling—it’s a verb.

As you go about your day, consider the people you encounter in service roles, in your workplace, or in your community.

How might a simple act of gratitude—be it a handmade token, a sincere compliment, or just taking the time to really listen—change the nature of your interaction?

The next time you find yourself in a doctor’s office, a grocery store, or any place where it’s easy to see roles instead of people, challenge yourself to make a connection.

You might be surprised at the stories you uncover and the bridges you build.