I was never really grateful before. Not really. I took too much for granted on one hand, and on the other I was focused on what I didn’t have, what I wanted. There’s not much room for gratitude in that way of thinking.
It was only after I awakened that real gratitude came online for me in a major way. I knew that many people recommended it as a practice, but it never resonated with me like that. So I was genuinely surprised when it became a core experience.
How to account for it? The full recognition that it’s all a gift. And that this is it.
Now, if I’m fed I’m grateful. If I’m warm and comfortable I’m grateful. If someone shows me a small kindness I’m grateful. If someone else is happy I’m grateful. If I or someone else is experiencing something that challenges us, I’m grateful. I’m alive, I’m grateful. Even death, I’m grateful for the life that was and the rightness of all things, even if they’re difficult.
In fact it’s hard to find something not to be grateful for. Even though sometimes it can take a moment to get there. To recognise and accept the gift. But it always does nowadays.
But my point is that it came to me, and that I didn’t culture it or practice it. And so I’m grateful for the gift of gratitude.
Admittedly I’m still challenged by life from time to time. I find myself wishing that some things would go and some would stay. I’m not beyond partiality or preference. But beyond all those considerations, thankfulness prevails.
