Gratitude

Take a pause and think.
Do you have enough to eat today?
Are you able to read this blog post?

All this indicates you are well off. You have no worries from where your next meal will come by. You are literate as well as computer literate. You have access to a computer or a device with an internet connection.

Millions go hungry in this very planet Earth we live in every single day. Billions cannot read or write, let alone use a computer or internet. Yet it seems we have so little to thank for and so much to complain about.

How many times we have contorted our faces, channeled our helplessness and cried “Why me ?”

Why me ?

Most of us (including me) are quite adept at playing this game. This is how it is played..

1. We blame circumstances, situations, environment, family or (worst of all) ourselves.
2. We invent reasons, excuses,  arguements etc. to support our statements.
3. We get sad, cry, become depressed and return to step 1.

Constant vicious cycles of worry, stress, blame game, complexes ruin our lives and of those around us. Yet this is a powerful habit we have made ourselves addicted to. Whenever I face a terrible situation in life, I went round and round the same path. In those difficult times, there were always a few of my friends and family members who supported me. Their help brought me back to reality and made me reflect. I still had them. It made me feel sincerely grateful for having them.

Just a small change in attitude dissolves the “terrible” situation.When we look from a different perspective, we realise so many people and things helping us. All the good things there are. It is overwhelming. For a moment, the egocentric outlook is deactivated and the world seems different. Just by asking a different question “What am I grateful for ? ”

What am I grateful for ?

Take a pause and answer what are you sincerely grateful for ?

• Existence on this planet
• Human mind which is a miracle indeed.
• Human body which is again miraculous
• Distinct experience of your life as a human being
• Beautiful relationships with other human beings or animals or plants
• and so on….

The list of good things is again endless. Just a small shift of focus and the world changes. A new game is on.

1. We are grateful for our life, existence, family, friends and so on.
2. We discover reasons for our existence. We develop a sense of belonging and always try to help others.
3. We are happy and try to do something awesome. That’s what we do when we are happy. We make life better for ourselves and for those who are around us.

Gratitude is very powerful indeed. As we practice this more it becomes a habit that uproots our cribbing habit.

Just take a few moments are ask yourself truly what are you grateful for? No need to shout it loud. Just be sincere in finding the answer and be thankful within.

Try this exercise for a few days and examine yourself. Better still is to practice it the first thing in the morning.

Please comment your thoughtful insights.