Developing an attitude of gratitude

Developing an attitude of gratitude is really the way to happiness. If you want to make yourself happy right now, you need to develop this attitude. Be grateful for everything you have with you. List down everything you have right now that you are grateful for – health, job, family, friends, good relationship, some skills, food, clothes, house, vehicle etc. Many people do not have what you have right now. Many people out there are struggling for what you have.

Be grateful for what is with you now. Don’t wait till they are gone and you can only appreciate it whe it is already gone. It will be too late. There will be only regret.

If you focus on what you have, your heart will become content. A contented heart is a happy heart. To be grateful is to be happy. So don’t postpone your happiness till you get what you want to get. Be happy right now.

Don’t think too much of what you do not have right now. Don’t let it steal your happiness.

Can you write a list of what you are grateful for right now?

Mindfulness

My friend who is from Suriname only moved to this city last year. She said to me that she only heard the noise of the traffic from her apartment where she lives in. She never heard birds chirping. Many birds might have moved away from the city. In fact, we do not live really far from each other. I said to her that every morning I still could enjoy birds chirping from the roof top. She might just not be aware of it. The next morning she texted to me excitedly that she heard rooster making a morning wake up call. She was so amazed and asked herself if it was always doing it everyday, but she just didn’t hear it. Because the awareness was not there, so the rooster didn’t seem to exist to her.

She wrote this: “I am just having a break from my work and sitting on my sofa and I hear birds chirping. So sweet.”

This covid-19 has brought new awarness in many of us. Being more aware of what is around us including what is in the nature. Everything might be the same, but because there is no awarness, they do not seem to exist to us. They are too small compared to our focus in our day-to-day life. We miss to enjoy and appreciate their existence. To be mindful is to be aware. Being aware is being in the now.

Thank you for sharing, Kawita.