Meaning of Gratitude and things we take for granted

Dear Friends, Last week I have asked your suggestions for topics for my next post. You all have given me wonderful suggestions. I am really grateful to you all for your valuable time and for suggestions given by you.

One of the suggestion given was of Gratitude and this has been suggested by Sabiscuit and Kindfeelings. Thank you so much both of you and here is the post….

What is the meaning of gratitude; let us first understand the meaning before we go deeper into the topic.

Dictionary meaning of Gratitude is…

The quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.

Let us see a few quotes to understand the meaning of Gratitude in a bit detail:

Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. – Melody Beattie

No one who achieves success does so without the help of others. The wise and confident acknowledge this help with gratitude. – Alfred North Whitehead

Gratitude is when memory is stored in the heart and not in the mind.

Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.

Gratitude is the healthiest of all human emotions. The more you express gratitude for what you have, the more likely you will have even more to express gratitude for. —Zig Ziglar

Now let us understand the few facts about Gratitude:

1. People who practice it have higher levels of optimism, positive emotions, and life satisfaction
2. Gratitude leads to lower levels of stress and depression
3. It also increases your capacity to be empathic and to see things from the perspective of others
4. Having a grateful outlook on life could also, help you be a better support to those in need.
5. Gratitude makes you place less importance on material goods, decreasing the feelings of envy that you might have
6. It helps your immune system to be stronger and lowers your blood pressure
7. A good way to increase your feelings of gratitude is to embrace the setbacks you experience in life. Remember, every setback is a set-up for a comeback.
8. Manifestations of gratitude strengthen  moral behavior
9. Gratitude is one of the key elements of happiness
10. Gratitude makes us nicer and more trusting, which can help foster or deepen strong relationships.
11. Expressing gratitude for something is a great conversation starter.

So now we have understood what Gratitude is, let us now try to go a little deeper and understand it further.

Here one “Doha” or couplet of Saint Kabirdas comes to my mind 

“Dukh Mein Sumiran Sab Kare, Sukh Mein Kare Na Koye,
Jo Sukh Mein Simran Kare, Toh Dukh Kahe Ko Hoye.”

Meaning: “During suffering, everyone prays to the Lord, but when experiencing happiness, we forget to thank God. If one were to pray to God even during the good times, can the bad times ever trouble one?”

So we should apply this principle for Gratitude also if we will be always grateful to things we have, we will never be in a situation where we will not have enough of those things.

What if you woke up tomorrow with only the things you were grateful for today?

If you do not want this to happen, so what all things will be in your list for which you will be grateful?

Let me help you out:

The things you take for granted someone else is praying for. Appreciate what you have before it turns into what you had

Things we take for granted:

1. You woke up breathing.
2. Have the freedom to choose what you will do today.
3. You had a bed to sleep in.
4. having the means to eat three meals today.
5. You think you stuck in traffic, but that means you have a car. and
6. You think no one is messaging you, but that means you have a phone and you can message someone.
7. Your all five senses are working fine.
8. Be grateful for each new day and the clean air you breathe.
9. With so many people being homeless, be grateful to have a place to call home.
10. Be grateful that you have a choice and a variety of clean clothes to wear.
11. You are confused in choosing which shoes to wear; there are people who do not have legs.
12. Someone waiting for you at home, someone to wait for.
13. Having running water for brushing, shave and shower – millions in the world don’t.

This list can go on and on….

We live in a world where so many things are accessible to us we sometimes take it for granted. Gratitude is the state of being consciously aware and appreciative of all the great things in your life.

In the next part we will understand the Gratitude in much deeper and also see what are the benefits, and how can we improve our life if we practice Gratitude daily.

Read the part II here… Gratitude… Part II