Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Gratitude



There are days when everything goes wrong - you start with a flat tire, you get late to work, get calls/letters that literally bring tears to your eyes - you get the picture. We all have days like that, where all we want is the time to just fast forward and put an end to our misery or just wallow in self-pity  feeling that  there is no light at the end of the tunnel. So what do you do? Take a minute or two, sit down and count your breath and be thankful for being alive. It is paradoxical, but being grateful  when you think you have nothing to be thankful for, is the only way to make things brighter and better.

Practicing gratitude everyday, trains you to get over moments and days when we are overcome with helplessness.  

1.Faith :Appreciation and being thankful for all that you have focuses on what you have and reinforces faith. Expression of gratitude brings harmony to your life, highlights the "haves" and diverts our energy from "have not’s”. I know it’s not easy to be grateful for your health when you are emotionally broken, but compelling your mind to focus on positive aspects of your life, creates awareness that your life is more than the problems and challenges you are facing.

2. Contentment : We live in an era, where social media encourages self-promotion, making it very easy to fall into the illusion that we lack more than others, giving rise to dissatisfaction. Appreciating what you have keeps you in check with reality and conscious of all the beauty and love in your life.  

3. Generosity and compassion : Genuine happiness is only possible when we are not just content, but feel that we have enough love and blessings, to share with others. When we feel blessed, we want to give , and develop empathy and  kindness for other people. 

So let us count our blessings every day- and be thankful for every breath we take, every hug we share, every beautiful sound we hear and every sunset that we see! 

Being grateful has meaning only when you do it from heart. Mean it - feel it and  see how it changes your life.


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