Expressing Gratitude

पूरे की ख्वाहिश में इंसान बहुत कुछ  खोता है। भूल जाता है की आधा चाँद भी ख़ूबसूरत होता है।

It's unbelievable how the universe answers to you in the form of people, experiences, or in some cases, writings as simple as the quote above. I'm grateful for that.

I have been practicing  the art of expressing gratitude for almost two years now. Art, yes, that's what it is. You can be grateful for anything at all, from a job promotion to the color of a flower. There's no limit to the things you can be grateful for. You just have to broaden the horizon and identify the plethora of infinite gifts which the universe has provided you with. Creative, isn't it? Hence, I choose to call it an art.

I always used to thank God for everything nice that used to happen to me. It's an expression of gratitude of course, but this act became a concrete habit once I started to write 'Things to be Grateful for' in a diary, at the end of each day. I can't thank that one person enough from whom I took the inspiration to do this. It is not just a habit anymore, it has become a lifestyle.

They say that the more grateful you are in life, the more will be given to you, The more blessings you count, the more abundance there will be. If you continue to count the lack of something in life, even that will increase! 

Imagine that you have a friend, you get them all sorts of gifts and they never appreciate it, never rejoice it and instead, they complain about what they dislike about the gifts or get upset over the things that you didn't get for them. Would you like to get something for them again? Would you feel happy about it? The answer is no.

Now consider the opposite situation. You gift your friend a small something, or show a small gesture of kindness, and they express lots of gratitude for that. Won't you feel nice that they liked it? Won't you feel like doing more and more to make them feel special? Similar is the relation between the Universe and Us. The Universe is there to provide us with everything that we are ever going to need but instead of being thankful for what we have received, we focus on what we don't have. Hence, it is very important to be grateful in life. Who likes an ungrateful person anyway?

It's nice to be thankful for. When you sit down to write those things, you'll observe that something in you will expand. You'll feel happier and lighter. I start writing with the big, noticeable things like- bagging a prize at some competition or spending quality time with friends after a long time. As I continue to write, things start flowing from the pen automatically. I have, in that flow, expressed gratitude for unknown people who have shown me kindness in any form, for a good meal, for clean water to drink to something as basic as air to breath! At the end of the writing, I could hardly think of any lack in life. These are only the things which we notice. Imagine the things that we take for granted- our loved ones are safe and healthy, there are people who care for us, we get to live another day and much more! How could we help but express gratitude to the unseen force that is taking care of all these things?

There are of course, unpleasant days when we feel that we have more to complain about than be grateful for. My dear, dear friend, that's exactly the day when you MUST count your blessings and be grateful!

I happened to have a slight unpleasant experience today which shifted my focus towards a lack and that's exactly when I came across this wonderful quote mentioned above which said, "In the desire for fullness, a man loses a lot. He forgets that even a Half-Moon is beautiful!"

 As soon as I read it, I couldn't help but be thankful to the Universe for shifting my focus to the abundance.  I was grateful for all the little things in life, all the pleasant and comfortable moments and the warm people who made my day better with just their existence.

Unfathomable are the ways in which the Universe communicates with you! You only have to be receptive enough. The simplest thing to do for that is being grateful!