It might be my first move towards writing non-fiction and I don’t mean to fib, by writing about a subject that had been in my mind for quite some time; a doggedness. Perhaps, I could write non-fiction after all.
I wanted to write about ‘Gratitude’.
You ask this question about Gratitude to a brusque, even a sadist, or someone who is depressed, and he would never want to hear you speak about it. So, why are some people so abrasive when it comes to hear about a word as delicate as ‘Gratitude’?
Probably, the reason lies within them. They are lost in their own wilderness akin to that of the vast African forests that they lead a life of a timid wildebeest, running away from the hyenas of their own demons. They speak about misery, and even worse, of their own death (almost often at the mere change of the wind). No wonder, why so many people commit suicide as they have already reached the ‘dead end’ and their conscience cannot protect them.
Lucky are those who return alive.
What brings them back to life is probably ‘Gratitude’.
Somewhere inside they realize that they are human, and they are better equipped to have a second chance.
Because, it is in the darkest night does the light shine brightly and then, they probably see an escape route to come out of that loop hole of theirs.
As per Gurudev Sri Sri Ravishankar Ji, Gratitude is nothing but ‘Contentment’.
Once, my wife asked me what makes me grateful towards life. At that moment, what flashed as an answer was my deep involvement in literature. In an abstract, that was contentment.
So, Gratitude is not mere, a willingness to be happy. It is happiness in itself. What makes you to be happy is that your estimate towards life, on how much content you want to be.
When you are contented, curiosity arises and then you never cease to learn. Learning never becomes a burden and you only end up being enlightened. Of course, it is not an overnight task. It needs purity in mind. Only then, benevolence arises and guarantees that success.
But as I mentioned some are unlucky. They don’t reach life and what do we do about such people? As humans, we cannot leave them in the lurch. The decisive factor is in the form of reaching out to the forlorn.
I’am fortunate that I’am associated with the ‘Art of Living’, who in its core teaches about human values and importantly, reaching out to people through its various meditation, yoga and self-development programs that have touched the lives of more than a multitude of million lives. Yes, we have transformed lives.
Gratitude could be in the form of Seva, or a mere helping hand to the one that needs the most and what best than sharing the ‘light of life’ to another who had just lost all the hope.
I believe, Gratitude is an important instrument in our humane toolkit, which nature has bestowed upon us. If we are able to connect to it, then, of course, we are content.
The Log 