Gratitude

Gratitude for all  the small  things  that matters in life,for the air we breathe, for all the little tokens received,  for our health, for our daily provisions, to be alive to strive,  for our families, our friends, aquaintances,there's so much that we could and must be thankfull for : yet we're  almost never satisfied  with that which we  have or posess. Once a challenge or a task  is accomplished ,we speed up , we're on our merry way to the next, not giving ourselves the chance to say well done or  to analyze  or acknowledge how successfully we were  in achieving that goal ; we have programmed ourselves  for saying this is not enough, we force ourselves and even apply pressure, saying there's much more to be reached to aspire, this isn't it . In such situations we forget how blessed we are and  how thankfull we should be at life.

Have you ever  caught yourself actively saying thanks ?  During the last few years I've started actively  to show more gratitude for all the goodness in my life. I've come to know and understand what reflection of my actions and behaviour means and how to adapt them in my every day life. I've learnt that saying thanks is not just a notion of politeness ,a behavioural standard ,a compulsory action or a privailing custom, but because I feel it is due, it's a feeling that comes from the heart, that say I'm happy to be alive and well and for this very reason I'm wholeheartedly filled  with gratitude.

 A few days ago I sat at home in my living room, I was a bit exhausted from the weeks before and thought  I'd give myself a break,  I  sat there with closed eyes and after and hour I had freed my mind and my thoughts  of all the worries and troubles of the past weeks, I smiled to myself, for having the chance to be free from distraction and in the position to sit and relaxed and just having nothing to do in that  present moment, just then my telephone rang, on the other end of the  line was a dear friend of mine, she told me she was just thinking of me and thought she'd buzz me up just to see how I was doing!  I was so happy to hear her voice that  I'd actually forgotten to listen to what she had to say, it was a thrill that she was on the telephone and I felt gratitude, she was just ringing in to ask what she could do and if all was ok:  she just make my day much brighter ,  we spoked about so many things during our conversation  and it was just great. After bidding each other goodbyes , I couldn't help but to smile at myself then for the second time  during this day I felt gratitude. Not because I was given a very expensive gift  or invitation to dinner or to a concert but because a true friend of mine had given me time,  she took time out for me, she'd  called just in the moment when I needed someone to talk to.Oh how valuable and priceless friendships can be! I  have learnt over the last years that one has to count his/ her blessing , and through  this all I've overcame the few tragedies that I've encountered during my adult life.

As a mother and wife , I've experienced how wonderfull , heartwarming and precious it is , and what great feeling one has when gratuitous is given or received.  Showing kindness gives  a thrill, awakes unknown emotions that were simply hidden , and reminds us that such symbols of affection are priceless. It's just amazing how one small little token of sympathy,  empathy,of love ,of lending a helping hand can  change one's situation from sadness into joy, from loneliness into happiness, from darkness into light and make one's life lighter . It's great having such feelings,many times we're asked how are you, but we're just too busy with unimportant things that we hardly register that a friend is concerned about our well being, it's taken for granted,  sometimes ignored , or just neglected simply gone unnoticed  because at that present moment we're distracted.  During the last weeks, I've caught myself counting all those special blessing that have been granted to me.  I've started activity ,voluntaryly  taking  and investing more time and energy  for all that matters in life, not just about the things " that I THINK are important" but  those  people and things "THAT ARE OF GREAT IMPORTANCE  TO MY LIFE ", that's our family, our friends  ,acquaintances , issues that really matters.

Preoccupation  of the mind with irrelevant thoughts, illusions and wasting precious time,  doesn't  gives us that thrill of happiness,  it only leads to frustration, we loose our patience , the touch to reality,  empathy towards our  fellowmen ,even friendships goes down the drain due to minor differences , lack of interest , impatience and  greed ; unsatisfation grows and we become selfish not ready to invest time and energy for the little things in life that are of great effect, that are of great priority to us and  to those who are dearest to us at heart . We need  to keep asking ourselves  is this of vital importance, are our actions in this situation correct, are our behavior correct or have we been only  distracted ? What is it that  has  influenced us to  behave in such an irrational manner.  We need to stop being judgemental and start thinking  positive and  knowing , acknowledging  and analyzing our options!  Then the big answer comes so clearly yet so simple we must set our priorities right . Analyzing ourselves and our options and adhering to those feeling from within will free us of all the stress, disillusion,disorientation and distraction ,taking time out to be thankfull to a friend  or just being kind to someone  will / might filled us with unknown happiness  .I felt gratitude , knowing that there was someone, a very  good friend out there who was thinking of me, I was more than overwhelmth and yes I did express my gratitude to her.

My dear friend of course had just thought she'd ring up a friend but this was far more than that, she had given me her time, a listening ear, showed compassion, empathy  and remind me that she cared . In life we seldomly give great thoughts about the little thing we do, sometimes we're unaware that's these small little deeds can brighten someone's day,someone's life, our small deeds can trigger some great change , change that could rearrange a person's life,  his/ her mood or feeling, that just needed a push, a reminder  that there's a friend out there thinking of you, worried about you and hoping that everything's fine and if not they'll help you, whatever it takes. My request on you all, when you feel the need or the urge of calling a friend, a family member or a colleague , go ahead and do so, ask him/ her how it's going,  if you deemed it necessary to send a bouquet of flowers,  or a post card, or whatever you believe will/can create  a sparkle, go on with it , give a compliment when it's necessary,then you can never know nor can you  imagine what great joy you'll bring to someone's life in this very moment, it's just uncomprehensive. Invite someone you haven't seen for along time for a coffee or just to take a stroll in the park  ,hold the door open  for the person behind you who is also leaving,  offer that stranger your seat in the underground, it clearly seen that she has difficultives whilst standing,  this doesn't make you smaller, these  tiny little gestures may cause someone's life  to regain importance ,   gives someone the feeling of being special , allow someone to experience  such a great feeling of thankfulness, give someone back  that bright sparkle of happiness that was lost, such a small gesture is simple yet powerfull and may  trigger new impulse not only to this person but to you ,reminding you how great it is to give, love, share,care and extend to those who are in need,  whether it's asked for or not,  having done something for someone  without any  reason, without a cause ,making someone feel special  when only for a small moment, is something  that we ought to be thankfull for.

Thanks for reading.