What was the last time you said “thank you”?
An old Romanian proverb says about gratitude that it is a “rare flower”. And almost never did popular wisdom fail in what it said. In today’s world, in the social reality we face every day, many positive feelings are rare flowers. Love, kindness, gentleness, gratitude. Gratitude is the main example of attitude towards the world that protects us even in the most difficult situations. And I’m not talking about simple good manners, but about a genuine perception that in any situation there is something to be grateful for. This also has a lot to do with the mindset, how we choose to actually set our way of thinking and perceiving. But that’s a topic for future discussion. Gratitude is practically a manifestation of love, and I am not referring here to romantic love, but to that love that we feel invading our mind and soul when we are put in front of beautiful things, which do not necessarily belong to us. When we refer to gratitude to someone else, it is defined as a two-way street, because it benefits from its miraculous effects not only the people we feel and show it to, but also us. The coffee made every morning with the love of a partner, the smile of your child when you come home, a kind word received from someone, the answer of a friend when you need it, are things we forget to be grateful for. A day that begins, a sunset, the sound of rain, the squeaking snow, the waves of the sea. The fact that we have dear people around us, a roof over our heads, a job. The health. We always forget that we are fragile like an eggshell, we forget that we are not indestructible and irreplaceable, we forget that we are a piece of dust in this infinite universe, star dust, indeed, but even so … a piece of dust . We forget that we do not dominate anything and that we are in the goodwill of nature. And that’s why we take them all and when we deserve them and forget to thank. Let’s thank others, let’s thank a higher court, whatever it is, let’s thank the planet for accepting us as guests, let’s thank ourselves at the end of the day.
We often understand the real importance of something when we lose it. And even then we don’t realize what exactly happened and why we got to that point, because we always tend to look for guilt outside ourselves. The partner, this model of education received in childhood, the neighbor, the boss, the horoscope.
By formulating our thoughts we shape our reality every day. How far we can determine our destiny is an unlikely option, but certainly our attitude towards life can make a difference. He who does not feel gratitude and spends his time complaining about what he does not have or the negative aspects of his life, does nothing but release and experience every day negative feelings such as anger, frustration, fear, dissatisfaction. He feels this negativity both towards himself and towards others.
When was the last time you closed your eyes and came down a little from the crests of the ego? When did you really enjoy the warmth of the sun or the cheerful laughter of a child? The sound of rain and the rustle of autumn leaves? When did you feel boundless joy when you recovered from a serious cold, or pain from something? When was the last time you said thank you to someone for a little gesture? Boring or obsolete, you might say, today? Would you say the world doesn’t appreciate it? But how much do you appreciate yourself? But how much do you appreciate the others? It’s best to start with something when you want to change something. And believe me, the effects will not be long in coming.
In a world that today, dominated by competition and so full of anger and hostility, “teaching” the kindness and gratitude of a child may seem counterproductive. But, in fact, it can be the antidote. About that, however, in the next episode!
I love you and thank you. Daily.
