It is tough to get up every morning and feel absolutely happy for everything. Let me re-write this. It is tough to get up every morning and feel absolutely happy for nothing.
Nothing because you didn’t buy a new car, you didn’t start living in a new house. You didn’t plan for a new trip or your next vacation. You didn’t earn as you expected. You didn’t do something to “waow” yourself. And may be that is why you and I do not think it as important to be thankful for anything.
Strangely enough, we are so used to this idea of “newness”, “doing something fancy”, “owning something fancy and unique” – something which is not ordinary. Unknowingly we want our lives and our possessions to be unique from others. That satiates us. That makes us feel happy. Yet that doesn’t make us feel thankful. After all Thankful to whom? We do believe that all our accomplishments, achievements are our own and we owe 100% credit to ourselves rather than anyone else.
So, in this busy lives of ours – a life which is quite much about consuming as much as we can from food to drinks to clothes and you name a thing; we forget being thankful.
The very fact you are breathing, you get up every next morning; the sun didn’t forget to rise and the air promised oxygen – doesn’t move us. We take them for guaranteed. Our parents being there for us; our families being there to share our joys and sorrows; having our friends with who we create so many memories – they don’t move us either. We take them as well forever. However, as a matter of fact they are not. They too are our joys – ours for limited period of time.
The very fact that we exist and exist healthy is sufficient enough for us to be thankful enough but we are not. This lack of being thankful makes us devoid of compassion, humility. And it leads to a point where we are full of ourselves. Not with bad intention though but lack of mindfulness leads us to pay no heed to any person, place or situation around us that actually got us here where we are today.
The world is a beautiful place to be in. From the books we read to the stories that leave an imprint forever. The movies we watch and leave us nostalgic. The food we eat and keeps us healthy. The air we breathe that keeps us alive. Nothing beats the pleasure of listening to the trees flurry their leaves, the sun and the moon playing hide and seek, birds chirping outside the house. The sight of a river gushing by, and the mountains that standby. And us living a life between those 24hours every day till we are alive. Nothing is permanent and forever.
So yes, let’s pause for a while, take a minute or so every day – close our eyes and be thankful for all what we have. Let us be thankful to what all troubles we are thrown into and all that gives us happiness. All that keeps us going and all that keeps us afloat. That’s the best way we can feel absolutely happy for so many (yet unaccounted for) possessions we already have. And the art of being thankful lies in the fact of valuing all what you have got and not counting on what you couldn’t have.
Thank you for reading this. And if you feel thankful today, share this with your friends and family as well. A simple word of Thanks goes a long way into making this world a beautiful place.
