Gratitude is an attitude……

   

Oh, we all know this…and we have been reading in books and been told umpteen number of times by parents, teachers, mentors.etc.. You say…...YES ….we have done it several times. More often than not, it slips out of our mind and we forget to express, as this attitude is not etched in our mind. 

My humble endeavor is to show how gratitude affects you physically, mentally  and brings inner peace, strengthens relationships, improves health and lets you live in abundance, and overall helps you progress  towards a positive life.

What is Gratitude? …. Gratitude is expressing thankfulness and acknowledging everything you receive. It is such a small gesture but will have a huge impact on your wellbeing.

Let me narrate a story I read recently.  A poor boy from a small village lost his way, he was hungry and started looking for food.  The boy was very shy to ask for food from strangers, but he couldn't endure his hunger for long…...somehow he managed to ask but none gave him……..he saw a small house and  knocked on the door…a young lady came out and looked at him, boy was shy to ask for food………... so he requested  for glass of water……. she went inside and got him a big glass of milk……...the boy was surprised on seeing milk and said, madam, I only asked for a glass of water………. she smiled at him and told……. you look hungry have this glass of milk……..later you can go home and have food……….. boy drank milk, thanked her and left the place …...time elapsed...after many years the lady  was afflicted with a rare disease and she was referred to a multi-speciality hospital in a  neighbouring city. She was diagnosed with a rare disease and the hospital called a specialist neurosurgeon to handle the case. The doctor visited the hospital and saw the lady in pathetic condition and instantly recognized her. He immediately operated on her and took care of her very nicely. While she recovered, the hospital staff sent a bill to the neurosurgeon for approval. (The bill amount was huge, the lady could not have paid in her lifetime, it worried her). The doctor asked not to send the bill to the lady, instead debit it to his account. Next day morning while she was about to be discharged the doctor sends a bouquet of flowers with a note saying….. The amount was paid in full long back with a “glass of milk”….what a wonderful  way  to express gratitude, what a nice gesture , how heart touching!

India is  the world's largest democracy. We are blessed to be born in this country. We have freedom of speech and expression. Many people do not seem to understand the value of freedom, Instead of showing gratitude by being law abiding, they misuse and abuse the system, and endanger  the fabric of democracy for personal gain, …...so please show your gratitude by appreciating what you have, otherwise, you will repent later.

Gandhiji says nature has provided enough for everyone’s need, not  for everyone’s greed. If you give two hoots for the gift bestowed on us and misuse and loot the  natural resources, nature  knows how to balance. We all have seen  nature’s backlash, tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanoes….latest is a pandemic coronavirus leading to large scale destruction. Ultimately life comes to standstill.

We are all interdependent on each other. Each individual contributes in maintaining eco balance…just an example, food on your plate is the result of hard work of many people….they are farmers, packaging guys, transport, delivery people and many such  are involved. Similarly in other areas of life, many people are involved in making life click. Collective effort and coherence brings order and create balance…..So our culture says, before you partake in a meal….. thank those souls who have toiled incessantly through day and night to bring  food on your table and  comforts to your door. This is Samskara…...we should be thankful to all of them. This has a great spiritual significance.

Have the attitude of gratitude.  This will benefit your health manifold. A lot of studies have shown that people with a mindset of gratitude do better in life than others.

They say unless you lose what you have, you will not realize it’s worth. Just when you look around, you  realize you are bestowed with so many gifts in life, but still we are busy  counting what we lack  not what we have.

 You can cultivate the gratitude practice by

Journaling: The best way to express gratitude, start writing every night (before you go to bed) what you are grateful for, and what brought you joy and comfort. Notice the smallest incidences of the day however insignificant or trivial  it may be. Thank universe for the gift.

Every day when you wake up in the morning express to yourself what you are grateful for.

Mindfulness: leverage mindfulness and start noticing things and instances you are grateful for.

Speak out : Start speaking to your friends, Spouse , relatives and make it a habit to tell everyone one how grateful you are for all the things you received.

“If you concentrate on what you have, you will always have more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never have enough”…….by unknown