In modern daytimes, the definition of gratitude is to be thankful and appreciative for the things or situations we have in our lives. While this is a proper definition and it is important
to be thankful for what we have in our lives, is this truly what gratitude is. You see that form of gratitude while again has its place, it comes from a world of comparison. We appreciate and are gracious that our situation is better than others , a lot of times you hear people say at least I am not so so and dealing with that, or we have gratitude for things we have that others may not . When we do this we are attached to a story in our mind that we are better off then others. Yes it might be true that your life situation is better than someone else’s but that’s not true gratitude. You see the mind or the ego needs to do this to feel fulfilled, to feel empowered to feel worthy. Let me preference again. This has nothing to do with appreciating your life situation, but imagine if we used gratitude properly and the way it was intended, how your perspective for life would change.
You see gratitude is an appreciation for what we truly are experiencing in this moment no matter what it is. We are gracious and accepting of what this moment is and we have gratitude that we are here experiencing this moment. You see gratitude is something more than just being thankful for possessions or our job or friends or health , it is an appreciation that we get to experience those things. Gratitude is a true holistic ability to be able to be living in this moment right now. To be gracious for the ability to experience life , is the gift of gratitude. When you use this lens and apply gratitude this way, no matter what your life situation is no matter what is happening in your life you no longer feel the need to compare whether you’re better off than someone else but have the ability and the gift of being able to experience life in this moment .
So yes, be thankful for what your life has brought you but realize and understand that gratitude is more than just what we have or what we are, it’s the ability to be able to experience it. It’s a gratitude for life. When we look at it this way the comparisons just seem to melt away.
Comments