Everyday I thank God for the gift of gratitude, which is at the heart of happiness. This is one of the prayers that begin my day, everyday. A long time ago, I remember reading somewhere that you cannot be grateful and unhappy at the same time. This resonated with me, and I thought about it and meditated on it, deciding that this was absolutely true. The very act of being thankful brings appreciation. And appreciation causes you to think about all the good in one’s life. How can that lead to unhappy thoughts? It can’t.
The reason given for this phenomenon was that it was impossible to hold two opposite ideas inside your mind equally. They conflict, and either one or the other will be stronger. The stronger one wins and becomes the dominant thought. Therefore, we can convince ourselves to feel happy by creating the intention of thankfulness. Actually, I think the two can occur almost simultaneously.
One day, I decided to pray a simple prayer in my mind beginning when I was still in bed. I started out by thanking God for my bed, my house, the paid bills, my job, my insurance, etc. I found that I could go on and on and on and still not have mentioned all the blessings I have. And I hadn’t even begun to mention my wonderful family and friends. And then, there was my sweet little dog and the opportunity to share my talents and be of service. I found out that it never ends, once you get started and really think about how much there really is to be grateful for in one’s life.
And yes, there comes a time in everyone’s life, when tragedy happens and the deep sadness takes over. This is natural and all part of this journey we call life. It happened to me when my son was killed in an accident. One day, he was hugging me and thanking me and saying goodbye after visiting me, and the next thing I knew he was dead. The shock and grief hit me with a force of devastation that left me numb. I couldn’t believe that it was true, even after I had seen him lying on a table in the morgue. It was just too much to take in.
What kept me from being in total despair was the fact that I was so grateful for what I had with him. The relationship, the memories, my last moment with him, all were blessings. No one could ever take those things away from me. They would always be true. Gratitude saved me. It saves me still.
Most of all, gratitude costs nothing, requires no terms, is always available and the benefits are endless. No matter what happens, even if it is much worse than death, you can choose to be thankful. And by doing this, you choose to be happy.