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Gratitude makes life easier, more joyful
Theresa Seraphim
Spotlight
The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings. -Eric Hoffer
It doesn’t cost much, but it avails much. It makes life sweeter and helps us get rid of the grasping attitude of wanting more, more, more.
Yes, we set aside the second Monday in October to celebrate Thanksgiving. Yet, gratitude can – indeed, should be and must be – a year-round mindset. Meister Eckhart hit the nail on the head when he said, “If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, “thank you,” that would suffice.”
The miracle is that when we are grateful, we are joyful, and that joy spills over into our relationships with others. It has a way of rippling out, as joyful people are attractive to others and help lift up their spirits.
As Margaret Cousins said, “Appreciation can make a day, even change a life. Your willingness to put it into words is all that is necessary.”
That’s quite the way to make someone’s day.
Gratitude also frees us from an attitude of “I won’t be happy until I have as much as possible.” Gratitude says, “What I have now is enough for me. If I get more, fine – but I will be perfectly happy whether or not that happens.”
Gratitude also releases us from demanding that everything be perfect in our lives, which makes sense because, in reality, nothing is perfect.
We realize not only that we don’t need more, in terms of possessions, but we don’t need an ideal world in which to live. Yes, we work to fix injustices and so on, but we also accept what is. In time, that imperfect person or situation actually becomes endearing.
When we look around, we can see much to be grateful for. Take your pick: family, friends, nature, your job, having enough (or, in many cases, more than enough) to live on, the weather, companionship, pets, freedom, good health…the list can go on and on, with “life” being the number one item. Meister Eckhart hit the nail on the head when he said, “If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, “thank you,” that would suffice.”
So, this coming Monday, we will sit down to our turkey meals and give thanks for all that delicious food (and, afterwards, for the person who invented Pepto-Bismol). We will also spare a moment to think about what is less than ideal in our lives and world, and say, “It is what it is, and that is quite all right.”
We are here and we are alive. Nothing more than that is needed, for any of us – and that is what counts.
Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn’t learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn’t learn a little, at least we didn’t get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn’t die, so let us all be thankful. - Buddha
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