Why Gratitude is the Mother of Happiness

How we look at life shapes how we feel in life…

Life’s three most rewarding forms of being = being grateful, being patient and being yourself. (Pic:
Hartwig HKD on Flickr)

I. A Famous Cautionary Tale

Yesterday a friend sent me an old Michael Jackson interview. “Genius,” she texted, “you’ll love this…”

Indeed, because an interview allows viewers to enter another’s view, I love seeing life thru another’s eyes… if only briefly. Especially when that “another” was once considered the King of Pop(ularity).

The interviewer showered Jackson with praise.

Bad, after all, was number one at the time, as had been all of Jackson’s previous albums. But just before the interviewer could serve more compliments, Jackson cut her off.

“I’m never pleased with anything,” he confessed, just above a whisper. Jackson went on to explain how he’s a “perfectionist.”

Initially I accepted the claim as justification for Jackson’s well-documented sadness. But on second thought, I said to myself — “Wait a sec….”

…And on third thought, I recalled a famed line from Hamlet:

“There’s something in this more than natural, if philosophy can find it out.”

— Shakespeare