I don’t remember just when, but, years ago, I began the ritual of expressing gratitude to the Universe before I began my day…
“Thank you, God, for everything and everybody I have in my life!”
Slowly and steadily, as I began realising the meaning behind those words, the depth in this simple prayer, I understood how blessed I have been! And, I don’t mean the materialistic things that I possess, but the people in my life, the kind of life I live, my health…the list is, actually, endless.
There were trying times, as there always are, but all through these, the attitude of gratitude stayed, unchanged. Those are still the first and the last words I utter every day. But, as I begin each day, I realise how, had it not been for this attitude, I would have taken it all for granted!
We humans are an unsatisfied lot. That would be an understatement. We take for granted the life we have been blessed with, the people we have in our lives and the way our lives function. Most of the time, our’s is the attitude of, “I am a self-made man/woman!” scarcely giving a moment’s thought to whether it’s really we who are the architects of our lives, our destinies.
We do realise this truth, though, when we come face to face with challenging times, when life doesn’t co-operate with our plans and decides to go haywire! That’s when we realise the importance of what we have, as opposed to what we wish we had, and we learn to be grateful for it all!
A roof over our head.
Food on our table.
A family who dotes on us, and makes us a priority.
A happy and healthy family.
The love and blessings of our parents and our siblings, and the unconditional love of our friends, who go out of their way to help us, support us in every way they can.
The ability and the resources to take care of the health concerns we/our family may face.
Everything that we need.
A job that helps us buy things that we need, ( so what if it’s not a great job, at least we are employed!)
A peaceful and happy environment to live in.
The freedom of choice.
Doctors we can put our trust in.
Teachers who help us make the right choices.
And, countless others who make our world a beautiful place.
Add to this list what you wish, but the list will always be endless!
Aren’t all the above things worth being grateful for? Just imagine how life would be had even one of the above been out of place. Maybe a sick family member with no good doctor to treat them. A child needing extra help in academics with no reliable teacher to assist him.
Or, worse.
Living in a place where the freedom to live your life the way you wish is snatched away from you and you live by the norms set by some gun-totting, so-called “revolutionaries”. Or, residing in a place that lacks basic amenities, or in a society that completely lacks any peace or order. You can guess the places I talk about here, isn’t it? All you need to do is switch on the TV and look for world news, and you will be grateful for what you have been blessed with!
Being grateful when life is going smooth, is easy. But, staying grateful in spite of all that’s going wrong with your life, now, that’s difficult. Practicing gratitude precisely during such difficult times brings about enlightenment, and you cease taking for granted all that you have, all those you have.
It also helps keep us grounded and feeling fortunate that, though times are tough, we have the few things that would otherwise make a whole lot of difference by their absence!
Think about it.
Just writing this post makes me want to renew my Gratitude List!
Do you believe in the attitude of gratitude?
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I am participating in the January 2018 Gratitude Circle blog hop, at Vidya Sury, Collecting Smiles.
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