GRATITUDE

"We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures." - Thornton Wilder
If you are reading this post today, you are alive and presumably well. You must have a roof over your head; you must have had at least a meal; you must have decent clothes to wear and a reasonable stream of income. If not, how else would you be able to afford that Blackberry device, Apple iPad or that Samsung Galaxy or any other mobile device? You also have a kind of internet subscription that enables you to surf the net and check my blog.
Have you ever wondered for a second how life would be like if you never owned and or couldn't afford any of the things listed above? Yeah, you may have been born into a wealthy home but fortunes change. Don't you consider yourself rather fortunate to be where you are today? Do you know that for you who can not afford any of these but own, a least a torch-light Nokia phone, there's still someone out there your age who has never dreamed of owning a mobile phone?
The essence of the above questions can be encapsulated in a statement: there's always someone who has it worse. No matter how bad your situation is, you have got it better than someone out there. For that reason, we all have a reason to be grateful.
Many times, we get so caught up in the rat race that is life. The race to earn more and acquire as much as we can, not necessarily because we need them but because such acquisitions are some form of social status symbol. When we finally acquire these things, we never get the satisfaction we desire and we move on to other conquests. Acquisition never begets satisfaction; only contentment does. When we fail to acquire these things we grumble and make negative comments.
Have you ever sat down once to consider where you are and for once, be grateful? Firstly, life and good health are the best gifts ever to be had; and they are free! For as long as a man is alive and healthy, there's no telling what he can be tomorrow. Secondly, why is it only right to compare oneself with peers who are successful? How about your unsuccessful peers? An objective analysis of how far you've gone in life is incomplete without assessing both sides of the coin.
Many times, we get so focused on the things we don't have that we forget the things we have. We envy those we consider successful, not considering that they do not see themselves so. We neglect the joys our place in life affords us and complain unnecessarily over the position we are yet to attain. We spend our time expressing bitter emotions because our ingratitude over what we have in life has turned us to bitter people and bitter people are the ultimate pessimists.
Have you said "thank you" for the air you breathe? Have you taken stock of the people in your life without whom your life would have been a lot more difficult? How can you hope to get more out of life when you haven't appreciated the things you consider little. A heart full of gratitude is a happy heart and it moves the forces of nature to work in your favour. Gratitude is the key to true greatness; a key that opens the doors to all possibilities.
Rather than complain about what you don't have, take time out of everyday to be grateful for the good things in your life. Didn't the old song say count and name your blessings? You'll be surprised at just how lucky you are.
Malcolm O. Ifi.