Gratitude — The cherry on the cake!
If there’s any trait on earth that a person can build within himself, with the raw material already out there, I believe, it is gratitude!
There are countless things in this world to be grateful for. Life often throws troubles at us one after another, and somehow we ensure that we count each and every one of them. The day we start counting our blessings the same way, we’ll realize that they’re not even. Everything, from the air we breathe, to the beautiful planet we live in, the vital organs that no amount of money can perfectly replace and so on. In addition to these and more, the little joys in life expand the list of things to be grateful for.
Since we’re so busy living our lives, moving from one work to the next and rarely stop to take a pause, a lot of these blessings are taken for granted, and never given a second thought. However, with a little bit of time and minimal effort, we can learn to be actively grateful. Take out a few minutes everyday, to be thankful. Several studies suggest that possessing the trait of being grateful positively enhances one’s mental health.
“Gratitude is the healthiest of all human emotions. The more you express gratitude for what you have, the more likely you will have even more to express gratitude for.”
— Zig Ziglar
In this day of declining mental health, intentionally practicing gratitude is sure to provide its own benefits. Each time you reflect on the good things in life, you realize how you still have a lot more than you asked for. On personal observation, I’ve felt that the practice of being grateful to people, even at times when they’ve hurt you, helps to bring down the grudges you can possibly have against others. Similarly, when you keep looking for things to be grateful about, even in the darkest of times, you find something to smile about.
In the long run, practicing gratitude helps develop a positive outlook to life. Receiving gratitude also adds to a person’s joy. A trait that promotes selflessness, this practice would bring out an optimistic change in the community. Unlike other values, it doesn’t take hours of concentration and focus, or dedicated effort to build this trait. When we often spend hours dissecting problems that could exist in the hypothetical scenarios we build up in our heads, how hard would it be to spend a couple of minutes a day, to intentionally practice gratitude?
Being grateful won’t erase our problems. But paying attention to the numerous other things to be grateful about, certainly helps in giving a new perspective to our lives. Even in painful situations, this could act as a reminder, to look forward to better times, as they are bound to arrive. Over time, we develop a better way of thinking, and are likely to be happier than before. There could be no other statement, that is a direct analogy to ‘Stay happy’, than saying ‘Practice Gratitude’!
