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Sometimes gratitude is confused with retribution and the action of responding to some act of giving is taken as a way for the other to respond to what he or she has received.
Giving or receiving then becomes the axis through which people evaluate the gratitude of others.
You can thank with a simple "Thank you", a hug or some other form without meaning that you have a debt for it, who gives expecting to receive something in the future is simply a merchandiser of opportunities and a corrupter of feelings.
There are people who are more expressive than others and also those who have hardened their hearts due to unpleasant experiences derived from apparently kind gestures that have served to break off affective relationships.
The Bible says it clearly, "God loves a cheerful giver", one who transforms the gesture of giving into an act of love and not an obligation or a way to advertise himself as a Good Samaritan.
My grandmother used to say that what one hand does, the other hand should not know, and whoever receives a blessing expressed not only in material things but also in affective ones, should be grateful for it, without this indicating that he/she should give it back.
Life takes many turns, sometimes the one who receives is transformed over time into the one who gives, and the size of his gratitude will be the one who stimulates him to repeat the actions that once served him at some point.
As a rule and not by religion, I always thank God first for what I have received, since everyone is an instrument used for a purpose, and the person who has given, since he has allowed it.
Gratitude is an introspective act.