Let's Talk about Gratitude

Watch the videos and read about this fascinating story of integrity and gratitude.

On April 21, 2008 Grammy-nominated classical violinist Philippe Quint was returning from a concert in Dallas.

Inadvertently, Mr. Quint left a very expensive violin, a Stradivarius, in the back seat of a cab he had taken at the Manhattan Airport.

The Stradivarius violin is one of the world most renowned and expensive.

The one carried by Mr. Quint that day was valued at about 4 million dollars.

A few hours later, Newark police told Mr. Quint that the precious violin had been found.

The taxi driver, Mr. Mohammed Khalil, had taken it home and once he connected with Mr. Quint, the violin was returned.

Watch the Video!

Can you imagine how grateful Mr. Quint must have been?

At the time Mr. Khalil returned the violin, Mr. Quint gave him a $100 tip as a thank you. That was all the money Mr. Quint could spare at the time.

Mr. Quint arranged to give the cab driver a mini-concert on the street where he worked. He knew that few, if any, of the cab drivers, who worked very hard, could afford to listen to him at a concert hall.

Let’s look at Gratitude together.

The Oxford Online Dictionary describes gratitude as “The quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.”

Another definition of gratitude is letting others know that what they did for you is important and appreciated.

Baking someone cookies, saying thank you, and giving a hug are all ways to express gratitude. It is an important part of friendships and family life.

Gratitude makes both people feel better about themselves.

Practice Gratitude

Have you ever done something special or nice to someone and they did not thank you for it?

 

 

Yet, although he had already given the tip as a thank you, he wanted to give more of himself back to Mr. Khalil.

 

Mr. Quint knew that playing his violin on the street is far from ideal conditions.  The weather can be cold or too hot, there is a lot of noise from traffic (and in this case airplanes) coming or going…and I’m sure he has a busy schedule, which he rearranged for the event.

 

 

Guess what? 

 

Mr. Quint and Mr. Khalil became new friends in the process!

 

Gratitude can be really cool!

 

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