How Can You Be Grateful When You are Feeling Down?

For quite some time, I have simply stopped writing inspirational articles on this gratitude blog - out of a deep void inside my heart. Life is not as sweet as your honey-coated chocolate candy all the time. There will always come a point in your life when the universe seem to conspire with all that there is... to bring you to the lowest point of your life. It happened to me for the past three months and it was tough to write something inspiring when you are feeling just exactly the opposite.

As the clock struck twelve on New Year's Eve, I have realized that I am the key to my own happiness and no one else. It wasn't even a New Year's resolution, but I have made a promise to dedicate myself in finding my bottle of joy, instead of wallowing in my own pool of tears. I am keeping this vow for the year 2010 and no matter how tough this promise may be, I shall strive to be happy. Perhaps, many have come to realize this too as the old year welcomed the new year. After all those economic and financial turmoil that had left a lot of people lose their very sense of security, driving them to the edge of sanity, I believe that it is high time to reassess what is truly important in life... and for me, it is finding simple pleasures and joy that are simply... priceless.

Gratitude is the very core of being happy and many Zen masters can attest to what I am saying here. But, one question always pop inside my head when it comes to being grateful for the blessings that come my way: Why is it just tough to say thank you when you are feeling the blues? It seems like an impossible fete to feel thank you when you lost your job, when someone you love rejected your affections, or when someone dear to you passed away. It doesn't seem to sound right to say thank you for being unemployed, thank you for being broken-hearted, or even thanking the fates for taking your dearest friend away for good. How can you?

Trials and sufferings can mold us into a better person, an old sage used to say. Sometimes, life may seem too harsh or too unfair. For this reason, many have become jaded, living a cynical life in their limited world. To become positive about every little thing makes one appear too idealistic and out-of-touch with life's bittersweet realities. Happy people are becoming a rare species nowadays and it seems like being pessimistic and practical is the latest trend. No one seems to care anymore to simply stop and smell the roses. Everyone seems to be walking with a mask of irony.

Life may catch you and hurl you in a whirlwind where everything becomes a blur. You may lose your ability to hope for something better and more positive, or you may wallow in the shadows of hopelessness. Do know that whichever you choose, you will always be the one to make that choice. Saying thank you doesn't have to be about the things you have recently received... but it is appreciation of what you already had, of something you never took time to appreciate.

It may be hard to say thank you when you are feeling so negative about the way life is, no matter how you try to convince yourself that things will be better. I have walked the same path and it was never easy. When each day is full of darkness inside me, it is just too hard to appreciate that warm ray of sunlight that shines on my face each day I wake up. It was a realization that made me snap out of my self-punishing habit and into the light of gratitude.

It is not hard after all to say thank you with all those bottled feelings of hate and anger inside. All you need to do is find that quiet moment to be at peace with yourself, with god, and the universe. By simply appreciating the fact that you are alive to see the adventures of what the day can bring, you can just smile... You are indeed blessed! Be Grateful... to be YOU!

" You are the One Who Creates Your Own Reality... "


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