When it makes no absolute sense to be grateful
Amid turmoil, what will you do? When life happens and situations go haywire, how do you maintain a balance? Gratitude, as I like to put it, is born from a place of processed and well-connected thoughts.
Think of a time when you lost hope, but not life — that is worthy of your gratitude. As gratitude is not rocket science, it means that you do not have to be smart to offer it. However, it does come from a heart that understands his limitations and insufficiency.
Asking the right questions
When an event plays out in your life or career, ask yourself: is this the worst that could have happened? I am confident that life does offer a silver lining, so your current tribulation can’t possibly be the worst that could have happened. Now, that’s a reason to be grateful.
When you ask, “What could have been better?” You never truly struck a chord of gratitude till you ask yourself, “What could have been worse” These questions serve as a meditation pill to counting our blessings.
A grateful heart will value reflection
As life is transient, and we must be intentional about our life’s work — so also must we be intentional about the most seemingly little blessings and privileges that we stumble upon on our life journey. Because LIFE does not yield on the principles of equilibrium — it always creates an environment for change and a continuous shift. It is for this cause that a beggar today can give tomorrow; and men, once full of self can fall like a pack of cards.
Knowing your privileges
You must understand the term, “privilege,” and how it comes to exist because the absence of its understanding might just catalyze your failure to pay it forwards. It is common knowledge that you can not be the source of your privileges. Someone somewhere paid the price for your satisfaction. You can not be the reason why you are happy; instead, there are things, people, situations that make bring happiness to your doorstep. You find happiness when you submit yourself to find goodness in whatever life throws at you.
“It is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love.” — Gandalf.
Can you be grateful for the everyday ordinary people?
Even-though there are extremely sensitive cases when the question “What could be worse” has no answers. Then, you will take a deep breathe and be grateful to God for the privilege of breathe because Hope is tied to Life.
My dad once told me of a shepherd who owns a flock of sheep. In the morning when the shepherd woke up the flock were gone. He searched for the flock for a month, and after his period of searching, he found his flock, dead in the water. He needn’t wail in his agony because he has the privileged of life. If the shepherd was gone before the flock, the flock would become someone else’s inheritance — because LIFE is needed to make a CLAIM.
When it makes no absolute sense to be grateful — that is the exact moment for gratitude.
This blog post was inspired by my teammate and friend at Solve Education!, Rudy P. Agnel, who shared an emphatic wisdom on his Instagram post this morning.