GRATITUDE

ABSTRACT

Gratitude makes us feel like we have enough and the one who knows enough is enough will always have enough. Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others. Gratitude is the response of the receiver of the gift and you are worthy of all you receive. Gratitude births only positive feelings- love, compassion, joy and hope melting away fear, anger and, bitterness. Attitude is a complex mental state involving beliefs and feelings and values and dispositions to act in certain ways and affects the choice that one makes. Attitude of gratitude takes the individual one step further as one progress in spirituality under God’s Grace. Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation.

ਮੇਰੈ ਮਨਿ ਰਾਮ ਨਾਮੁ ਜਪਿਓ ਗੁਰ ਵਾਕ ॥

ਹਰਿ ਹਰਿ ਕ੍ਰਿਪਾ ਕਰੀ ਜਗਦੀਸਰਿ ਦੁਰਮਤਿ ਦੂਜਾ ਭਾਉ ਗਇਓ ਸਭ ਝਾਕ ॥

Merai man rām nām japi▫o gur vāk. Har har kirpā karī jagḏīsar ḏurmaṯ ḏūjā bẖā¬o ga¬i¬o sabẖ jẖāk.

O my mind, chant the Name of God, through the Guru's Word. The Eternal God has showered Its Mercy to me, and my evil-mindedness, love of duality and sense of alienation are totally gone, thanks to the Creator of the Universe. -----Guru Ram Das, Raag Kanrha, AGGS, Page, 1295-10

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Attitude of gratitude creates happiness because it makes us feel full and, complete. It is the realization that we have everything we need, at least in this moment. Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the conscience. It is the highest appreciation, which cannot be uttered in words, but lived in. God oriented (ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ) always show gratitude and are pleasing to God unlike self-willed (ਮਨਮੁਖਿ) performing showy rituals as expressed by Guru Nanak in Raag Majh:

ਮਨਮੁਖ ਲੂਣ ਹਾਰਾਮ ਕਿਆ ਨ ਜਾਣਿਆ ॥

ਬਧੇ ਕਰਨਿ ਸਲਾਮ ਖਸਮ ਨ ਭਾਣਿਆ ॥

ਸਚੁ ਮਿਲੈ ਮੁਖਿ ਨਾਮੁ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਭਾਵਸੀ ॥

ਕਰਸਨਿ ਤਖਤਿ ਸਲਾਮੁ ਲਿਖਿਆ ਪਾਵਸੀ ॥

Manmukh Loon Haraam Kiyaa Na Jania, Badeh Karan Salam Khasam Na Bhaniya. Sacẖ milai mukẖ nām sāhib bẖāvsī. Karsan ṯakẖaṯ salām likẖi­ā pāvsī.

The self willed are false to them selves; they feel no gratitude for what they have been given. Those who merely perform rituals of worship are not pleasing to their God and Master. Those who attain the True God and chant Its Name are pleasing to God. They worship God and bow at Its Throne. They fulfill their pre-ordained destiny.                    -----Guru Nanak, Vaar Raag Majh, AGGS, Page, 143-4

Once one knows his own real true worth, he can know the worth of others by judging himself rather than others as portrayed by Guru Angad in Raag Majh:

ਨਾਨਕ ਪਰਖੇ ਆਪ ਕਉ ਤਾ ਪਾਰਖੁ ਜਾਣੁ ॥

ਰੋਗੁ ਦਾਰੂ ਦੋਵੈ ਬੁਝੈ ਤਾ ਵੈਦੁ ਸੁਜਾਣੁ ॥

Nanak Parkhay Aap Ka-o Taa Paarakh Jaan, Rog Daaroo Dovai Bujhai Taa Vaid Sujaan.

O Nanak, if someone judges himself, only then is he known as a real judge. If someone understands both the disease and the medicine, only then is he a wise physician.                                                                                                                                         -----Guru Angad, Raag Majh, AGGS, Page, 148-8

Joy is defined as an emotion evoked by well-being, success or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing whatever one desires. While gratitude is the state of being appreciative of benefits received. As we experience the mental sunshine of gratitude; we begin to glow, and our lives are full of people who want to be around us because we exude peacefulness, happiness and joy.

Positive emotions like gratitude and love are beneficial to health through the release of endorphins in the blood stream. Conversely, negative emotions such as worry, anger and, hopelessness contribute to high levels of adrenaline leading to stroke and heart disease.

Gratitude brings you back at the present moment now. When we see the glass half full rather than half empty, we notice what is there rather than dwelling on what is not there. Gratitude is an inner light we can use to illuminate our conscience. When we feel the fullness of gratitude, we accept (ਭਾਣਾ) life as it is. You cannot experience gratitude with a closed heart. The more you feel grateful, the stronger is the impulse toward giving. And the more you give, the more you get-love, friendship, a sense of purpose and accomplishment, even some times material wealth. Thus, gratitude also gives birth to a fiercely loving environmentalism. Some people find moments of transcendence trough meditation, others in nature.

Life is both wonderful and dreadful and sometimes we have forgotten the miracle of being alive. We should learn to count on today, love and, trust of our friends. In some ways our attitude determines everything, because they are the glasses through which we see the world. Our attitudes have the ability to enable or disable us. Gratitude is the response of the receiver of the gift and you are worthy of all you receive.

Retroactive gratitude- realizing after some thing is over or some one is gone makes me feel to really appreciate what I have, but wasn’t aware of it until it was gone. The list of what we have &taken it for granted is endless. Regret is a poison that keeps us in the past. Thus, gratitude is a natural response to the miracle of life as we experience it from moment to moment by living in the present.

If you haven’t got all the things you want, be grateful for the things you don’t have and that you do not want. Counting blessings by their not having struck the more outrageous the better (accidents) is a great mood elevator. Some times we need to look at what haven’t befallen us to wake ourselves up to the joys of our ordinary life, because they are blessings by not happening.

This is where we truly ripen as souls, for it is easy to pay the lip service to the idea of gratitude and not to take the final step of embodying it. A pessimist is some one who has exercised the muscles of negativity till it becomes habitual, while an optimist is a person who has developed thankfulness and a can-do attitude until this becomes a second nature.

When we truly focus on what we need, as opposed to what we want or might like, life gets much simpler and it is much easier to be grateful. Nothing blocks the feelings of gratitude more than anger and resentments. At some point you realize that you are much stronger and more loving person that you might hadn’t been if you hadn’t been so hurt and you recognize the gift in your suffering. Forgiveness leads to gratitude, which redeems our suffering.

The truth is, of course, that happiness is an inside job and, beyond the subsistence level. Money truly has very little to do with our happiness. I use envy as a trigger to remember that I want to do a better job of giving myself away. Service of the humanity is well above meditation. Expectations are the killers of gratitude and joy. 

We are so incredibly well trained to notice what is wrong in any given relationship, work situation or experience that it is very easy to over look what’s right because our entire education system trains us to notice flaws and mistakes-that we are living in a negative world. What if we spent as much energy in relationships noticing and appreciating the other person’s gifts, talents, beauty and strengths as we do in exposing and dealing with its flaws? There are three circles of influence for every person- you, other people and life it self. It is the contentment in all these respects, which makes us happy in the moment.

It is not to look for as to why the discontentment or suffering came but to learn from it and what it could teach us. When we fail to use the hardships that dog us to become more loving, more patient, more present and, kinder is our fault.

Honoring our connections to those who came before us gives us a sense of belonging and wholeness. It takes decades to acknowledge that one’s own unique self but also that you are the child of your parents and indeed whether it is good or bad, you are more like them than you ever imagined. By repeating the past, we fail to grow beyond it. 

Why is it that we are so kind, tolerant and loving to the people we barely know and so demanding, cold and, down right mean to those who are closest to us?

When we become pre-occupied with the faults, Mistakes, shortcomings and lacking our children, we become angry and shortsighted instead of thanking them for being as they are? 

Be thankful that you don't already have everything you desire, if you did, what would there be to look forward to?

Be thankful when you don't know something, for it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times, during those times you grow.

Be thankful for your limitations, because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for each new challenge, because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes, they will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you're tired and weary, because it means you've made a difference.

It is easy to be thankful for the good things; a life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are also thankful for the setbacks.

Gratitude can turn a negative into a positive. Find a way to be thankful to God with an attitude of fear and love for God and your troubles can become your blessings.

ਖਿਮਾ ਗਹੀ ਸਚੁ ਸੰਚਿਓ ਖਾਇਓ ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤੁ ਨਾਮ ॥

ਖਰੀ ਕ੍ਰਿਪਾ ਠਾਕੁਰ ਭਈ ਅਨਦ ਸੂਖ ਬਿਸ੍ਰਾਮ ॥

Khima Gahee Such Sancheo Khaaeyo Amrit Naam, Khari Kirpa Thakur Bhayee Anand Sookh Bisraam.

Adopting an attitude of tolerance, and gathering truth, partakes of the Ambrosial Nectar of the Name of God. I have been blessed with the Guru’s Grace, resulting in complete peace and tranquility of mind.-----Guru Arjun, Gauri Bawan Akhree, AGGS, Page 261-8

We should try to awaken the joy that is available now. Live as if every day is your last. It is man’s foremost duty to awaken the understanding of the inner Higher Self and to know its real inner greatness by removing the veil of lower self (ਹਉਮੈ).

Conclusion:

The act of gratitude--that surge of true appreciation--is a powerful thing. Studies have shown that regularly counting your blessings can ease depression and reduce stress. Gratitude can make a day; even change a life with willingness and to put words in action, which is all that is necessary. If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, "thank you," that would suffice. Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, and confusion into clarity. It turns problems into gifts, failures into success, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into important events. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.

1.      One does not become wealthy only with accumulating wealth, but one can be rich by developing virtues with spiritual growth.

2.       At each level of gratitude, our soul’s capacity deepens-At first, we experience contentment, meaning that we are there for some purpose and therefore thankful for life’s lessons.

3.      Thirdly we dwell in pure joy and may even experience at all levels of thankfulness and the soul-gift that each offers.

ਲੂਣ ਹਰਾਮੀ ਨਾਨਕੁ ਲਾਲਾ ਬਖਸਿਹਿ ਤੁਧੁ ਵਡਿਆਈ ॥

ਆਦਿ ਜੁਗਾਦਿ ਦਇਆਪਤਿ ਦਾਤਾ ਤੁਧੁ ਵਿਣੁ ਮੁਕਤਿਨ ਪਾਈ ॥

Lūṇ harāmī Nānak lālā bakẖsihi ṯuḏẖ vadi¬ā¬ī. Āḏ jugāḏ ḏa¬i¬āpaṯ ḏāṯā ṯuḏẖ viṇ mukaṯ na pā¬ī.

I have been untrue to myself, but Nanak is Your slave; please forgive him, by Your glorious greatness. Since the very beginning of time, and throughout the ages, You have been the merciful and generous God. Without You, liberation cannot be attained.                                                                                                                                                        -----Guru Nanak, Raag Maru, AGGS, Page, 991-5