Heart Of Gratitude

" When you arise in the morning, give thanks for the morning light, for your life and strength. Give thanks for your food, and the joy of living. If you see no reason for

giving thanks, the fault lies with yourself. " - Tecumseh

Adopting an attitude of appreciationtowards the things in your life makes an enormous difference to your level

of happiness. People who consciously attempt to be thankful and appreciative

tend to feel happier and at peace to a greater extent than others. Let me

show you an inspirational story.

A blind boy sat on thesteps of a building with

a hat by his feet. He heldup a sign which said: “Iam blind, please help.”There were only a few

coins in the hat.

A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and

dropped them into the hat. He thentook the sign, turned it around, andwrote some words. He put the signback 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 boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were.

The boy recognized his footsteps andasked, “Were

you the one whochanged my sign

this morning? What did you

write?”

The man said, “I onlywrote the truth. I saidwhat you said but in a

different way.” I wrote: “Today is a beautiful day

but I cannot see it.”

Both signs told people that the boywas blind. But the first sign simplysaid the boy was blind. The secondsign told people that they were so

lucky that they were not blind. Should we be surprised that thesecond sign was more effective?

"When life gives you a 100reasons to cry, show life that

you have 1000 reasons to smile. Face your past withoutregret. Handle your present

with confidence."

Prepare for the future without fear. Keep the faith and drop thefear. The most beautiful thing is

to see a person smiling…And evenmore beautiful is, knowing thatyou are the reason behind it!!!

1. exercised more regularly, were healthier, slept better and felt more optimistic.

2. made more progress towards personal goals3. were more alert, enthusiastic and could handle stress more effectively

Moral Lesson # 1 : People who practice some form of conscious gratitude

Moral Lesson # 2 : Be careful when you make comparisonsOf course, there are people who are more successful, wealthier, have a ‘better’ job, etc., and it is easy to be envious of them. But there are so many others who are worse off than ourselves, so whynot focus on how fortunate we are? Feelings of envy are corrosive and can cause great damage to your happiness and self esteem, so choosing the right comparisons is important.

Moral Lesson # 3 : Be more conscious about the things we take for grantedMany of the things we should be thankful for get forgotten because we are so used to them, and itis only when we lose them that we remember how fortunate we were. Don’t wait until something’s gone before you are grateful – your sight, your health, your family – take some time to appreciatethese wonderful things.

Moral Lesson # 4 : See the good in every situationIn reality, it is our response to the situations that determines what kind of experience it is. Even in the most apparently awful situation, we can derive some benefit if we have the right mindset. Growth anddevelopment usually involves some degree of pain, and so challenging situations are opportunities for such growth. Instead of seeing situations as problems and obstacles, see them as opportunities.

Moral Lesson # 5 : You should keep a gratitude journal Gratitude is a conscious and regular part of your day or week. Making a list of the good things in our lifecan be a wonderful experience. Although we might not think we have much to be grateful for, when westart writing, it becomes clear that we do have a lot going for us. You will end up with a record of things you are grateful for which it will be very helpful to read in times of stress or unhappiness.

Moral Lesson # 5 : Little things matterA dripping tap soon fills a bucket until it is overflowing. Developing appreciation is no different. Appreciating the many small things in your day will lead to greater and greater levels of gratitudeand happiness. When someone smiles at you, when you receive a small complement, when a friend sends you a nice SMS message… these are all things to be thankful for.

Just as millions of snowflakes pile up to create a blanket of snow, the

‘thank you’s’ we say pile up and fall gently upon one another until, in our

hearts and minds, we are adrift in gratitude. ~Daphne Rose Kingman

As with all things, success requires persistence. A little bit of gratitude everyday can, over time, make a big difference to our level of happiness and well

being. Be thankful for what you have.. Be creative. Be innovative. Think differently and positively. Enjoy every day with a heart of gratitude.

Thank You Very MuchSompong Yusoontorn