Do not look for thanks or appreciation ...

Love lies in service; only that which is done not for fame or name, not for the
appreciation or thanks of those for whom it is done, is love's service.

Bowl of Saki, by Hazrat Inayat Khan

Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:

Love lies in service. Only that which is done, not for fame or name, nor for the
appreciation or thanks of those for whom it is done, is love's service.

The lover shows kindness and beneficence to the beloved. He does whatever he can
for the beloved in the way of help, service, sacrifice, kindness, or rescue, and
hides it from the world and even from the beloved. If the beloved does anything
for him he exaggerates it, idealizes it, makes it into a mountain from a
molehill. He takes poison from the hands of the beloved as sugar, and love's
pain in the wound of his heart is his only joy. By magnifying and idealizing
whatever the beloved does for him and by diminishing and forgetting whatever he
himself does for the beloved, he first develops his own gratitude, which creates
all goodness in his life.

The Sufi moral is this: Love another and do not depend upon his love; and: Do
good to another and do not depend upon receiving good from him; serve another
and do not look for service from him. All you do for another out of your love
and kindness, you should think that you do, not to that person, but to God. And
if the person returns love for love, goodness for goodness, service for service,
so much the better. If he does not return it, then pity him for what he loses;
for his gain is much less than his loss.

Do not look for thanks or appreciation for all the good you do to others, nor
use it as a means to stimulate your vanity. Do all that you consider good for
the sake of goodness, not even for a return of that from God.