“If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, ‘thank you,’ that would suffice.” ~ Meister Eckhart.
“God, I am grateful to you for giving me another beautiful day. Thank you for being there with me whenever I need you. Thank you for giving me a beautiful life.”
How often do you start your day by thanking God and appreciating for the amazing life He has given you?
Or let me ask you this. When did you last say “thank you” to someone to show how grateful you were for them?
You see, gratitude is such a small thing, but it can have a huge impact on your life, and the life of that person. But then…
What is Gratitude?
Wikipedia defines gratitude as – “…a feeling or attitude in acknowledgment of a benefit that one has received or will receive.”
So, when you tell yourself how thankful you are for…
- Roof over your head
- Food in your plate
- Your health
- Your relationships
- Your family
- Your job
- Holidays
…you are showing gratitude towards the great things in life.
This is in fact that default form of gratitude you’re likely to come up with when you attempt to make a list of things to be grateful for, in good times and bad.
I often meet people who would counter their negative emotions by saying, “At least, I have a roof over my head” or “At least I have food to eat.”
This form of gratitude, which starts with the words “at least”, is a great way to tell yourself how grateful you are for your material possessions, which someone else does not have.
But that’s not the best form of gratitude, my friend.
These are, after all, things that create just a temporary feeling of gratitude in you.
“Why do you say so?” you may wonder.
Well, if I change your circumstances – like I remove food from your plate or ask you to leave your home – you won’t be grateful for these possessions anymore. Right?
So what I am saying is that when we feel grateful “due to our circumstances”, that’s not the best form of gratitude we can show.
Such kind of gratitude is fragile since all it takes to knock you out of state is a change in circumstances.
Even three words like “You are fired!” or “I hate you!” or “You lost it!” can kill it.
The “Real” Gratitude
I believe real thankfulness or gratitude is independent of situations and circumstances.
This is a feeling of gratitude for life itself, for existence, for anything and everything you experience.
So, instead of a temporary emotion, this type of gratitude is more of an underlying attitude. With practice it becomes part of your identity.
So you are grateful not by choice, but just by nature.
Like being grateful for…
- Your life
- Your heart
- Your mind
- Your ego
- Your mistakes
- Your problems and challenges
- Your consciousness
- Your emotions
So, where the first type of gratitude we discussed above says, “How wonderful this thing is!” the real gratitude says, “How wonderful it is to exist!”
You feel grateful despite the circumstances you are in and without any justification.
Now, that is fascinating because you are grateful for your existence.
You’re a Miracle!
Scientists estimate the probability of your being born was miniscule.
It’s same as the probability of 2.5 million people getting together – about the population of Nagpur or Kanpur – each to play a game of dice with trillion-sided dice, and they each roll the dice, and they all come up the exact same number, say 123,456,789,678.
You got the point, right?
A miracle is defined as an event so unlikely as to be almost impossible. Wikipedia says, “A miracle is an event not ascribable to human power or the laws of nature and consequently attributed to a supernatural, especially divine, agency.”
By that definition, you are a miracle.
Now go ahead and feel grateful for the miracle that you are.
Start with making a list of five things you feel grateful about. Do this daily.
Right now, light up your day by saying “thank you” to life.
Right now, light up someone else’s day by saying, “Thank you for being you!”
Thank you being you! You are amazing!
Leave a Reply