A Lesson on Gratitude

A blind old man sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which read, "I am blind, please help." There were only a few coins in the hat. A girl was walking by and she took a few coins from her pocket and dropped them into the hat. She then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. Then she put the sign back in the old man's hand so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.

Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind man. That afternoon, the lady who had changed the sign returned to see how things were. The old man recognized his footsteps and asked, "Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?" she said, "I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way."

I wrote, "Today is a beautiful day, but I cannot see it." Both signs spoke the truth. But the first sign simply said the man was blind, while the second sign conveyed to everyone walking by how grateful they should be to see...

 

When your life seems to be full of troubles, it seems difficult to maintain an attitude of gratitude, doesn't it? All we see are our problems, like a blackened storm cloud casting a dark shadow over our lives. And the times when everything seems to be going smoothly? We often take these precious moments for granted too, don't we? Caught up in the bliss, comfort, and familiarity of it all, we can simply forget to be thankful. So, what, then, is gratitude? Simply put, gratitude is a habit. It's a way of looking at the world and all the good things in it with a feeling of appreciation, regardless of whether or not your current situation is to your liking. Gratitude is a heart-centred approach to being at peace with yourself and with all you have.