The Gift of Gratefulness

“Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.”
—Eckhart Tolle

Gratefulness is a powerfully positive experience capable of promoting a happier and fuller life.

Where does gratefulness originate?

A feeling of gratitude starts from a perception of satisfaction with oneself and one's life, just as, on the contrary, resentment and anger are expressions of dissatisfaction with one's existence.

Being grateful becomes a conception of life, a way of dealing with the world and others, a perspective that does not consider everything taken for granted and due.

Perhaps this distinguishes gratitude and identifies it as the positive sentiment par excellence. It restructures our relationship with the world at the base because everything becomes a gift, every experience not taken for granted, every moment spent in life as precious as it was the last.

It will no longer be only the sensational experiences to make us happy but also the tiny details that the ungrateful person completely misses. Gratitude makes life colorful, while ingratitude means living in black and white.

Gratitude is not something innate. Nor is it determined by genetics. It is a virtue that we can cultivate with a series of practices.

For what can you be grateful?

The first thing everyone asks when it comes to gratitude is, "but what do I have to be grateful for?".

Alas, the question comes from the lack of gratitude or the implicit belief that for one to be grateful, there must be striking reasons and unusual and unique objective facts.

This attitude means that gratitude does not emerge and does not have a chance to flourish. We need to change our perspective and learn to focus on the little things.

How can we accept the gift of gratefulness?

The first step is to stop taking everything for granted. The fact that we breathe, that we walk, we can run, talk, and meet other people is a miracle to be deeply grateful for at all times.

The small gestures we share with other people, the coffee prepared every morning with love by a partner, and the thanks received from an elderly lady we helped are blessings. The smile of a child upon arriving home and the beauty of a sunset are more blessings often taken for granted.

Then we must learn not to look at the world through the warped filter of negativity where everything is ugly, worrying, and alarming. Finally, it is necessary to overcome the arrogance of attributing to others and the world all the wrongs and ourselves all the merits.

Once we begin to understand how many things each of us can be grateful for and that seeing them or not is a matter of choice, a new phase of our life opens.

What's the best way to show gratitude?

The manifestation of gratitude passes through small gestures, almost details. Grateful people are not always in a hurry, out of breath, and constantly late. They allow themselves time to dwell on the beauty that surrounds them.

Those who are grateful smile more and do not complain all the time. Grateful people do not get angry if they have to stand still in the queue, and they do not attack someone to vent their tension.

A grateful person makes no excuses and takes responsibility for their actions.

In the beginning, we can train with the people who are closest to us, such as parents, children, colleagues, teachers, and all those women and men who in some way are part of our life and who can acquire a much more beautiful role if we show our gratitude to them.

Another effective way to cultivate gratitude is to write at least 2-3 reasons to be grateful daily. This writing exercise gradually contributes to restructuring our world's vision and role.