Once I was in a restaurant I visited regularly, and the waiter brought us the bill. As he handed it to me, I said thank you. The person with me asked: Why are you thanking him when he is doing his job? I said: Because I am grateful that he is doing his job. He could choose not to do it, or not to do it well, and he is doing it, and doing it very well. To which my companion replied: But then he will think we should all thank him for doing his job. And I replied: We should all thank him for doing his job. He is providing us with a service, and being grateful says nothing about him; it reveals who we are.
It is simple: Be grateful! For however much or little you have each day, be grateful! For being able to see the shapes and colours around you, be grateful! Not everyone can see what you can. For being able to hear birds singing, the sound of waves breaking on the shore, music that sends a shiver through you, for being able to dance to the rhythm that reaches your ears, be grateful! Not everyone can hear what you can; many have to imagine it. For the scents you can smell, the scents of spring, of rain, that smell of a freshly bathed baby — and a not-so-freshly bathed one is a blessing too — be grateful! For your pair of legs, because you can run, walk and dance, be grateful! And if you don’t have them, be grateful for having had them, and be grateful again for having the tools to get around without them.
Life is that simple: the more grateful we are for the things we take for granted, the more we receive.
Did you know that there are towns such as Rjukan in Norway that spend six months of the year without receiving sunlight?
Did you know that cities such as Luxor in Egypt can go more than five years without seeing a drop of water fall from the sky?
Did you know that there are countries where life expectancy is less than 40 years?
Can you imagine having to live without seeing the sun for six months? Some people do, and they are grateful. Can you imagine seeing rain only a handful of times in your life? That happens to some people, and they are grateful. Can you imagine not being able to watch your children grow up, let alone your grandchildren, because life expectancy in your country is so low? Some people live that way, and they are still grateful.
Be grateful! Be grateful for the difficult situations you went through a year ago, which you overcame, and for the tools you have today thanks to those situations. Simply close your eyes, breathe deeply and be grateful.
What happens to us when we are not grateful? Let me give you an example: Imagine going to a child’s party and giving him a birthday present. A present you made a great effort to buy. The child takes it and throws it on the floor because it wasn’t what he wanted so badly. On his next birthday, you will no longer be as excited to buy him a present, or perhaps you won’t even go to his birthday party, and of course, there will be no more present for him.
The same happens with the universe: if we consciously or unconsciously scorn everything the universe gives us, we ourselves will be sabotaging all the good things yet to come.
My message today is simple, easy and free:
Be grateful!
I’ll start: Thank you very much for being there. Now it is your turn.
“We often take for granted the things that most deserve our gratitude.”
Cynthia Ozick