Gratitude, Beyond a “Last Moment”

Gratitude, I think, should be a way of life for everyone. Most times, we miss it when it comes to being grateful. Can we be blamed? We live in a world where people are hardly satisfied or contented. Don't get me wrong, there's a place for striving for more, for something better and not just settling for less. Is that the major reality today? I don't think so. It's mostly that of gross ingratitude, for reasons like wanting more yet ignoring or disregarding what we have, or because we chose to compete with others. Such dispositions never allow for gratitude.

So, the prompt had to paint a scenario－if a gun was pointed at my head, what would I be grateful for, before the trigger is pulled? Here's me thinking, why would I wait till that moment to be grateful for the things I can be grateful for every day that I live? I see such a scenario as an opportunity to continue with my gratitude, or rather to end with gratitude on my lips and in my heart. But back to the hypothetical question, what would be that thing I'll be grateful for as the gun is pointed at my head?

It's important to note that this would be life flashing before my eyes at that moment. Chuckles. In that state, my gratitude would be what has been and will remain, though I've been guilty of failing to recognise and appreciate it most times. The gift of life, yes that. And I don't mean it as in just life; being alive. I mean it in an all-encompassing sense. Everything that has been in life for me－people, purpose, relationships, lessons, achievements, failures... just everything life had offered thus far to that moment.

This gratitude would solemnly be to God the giver of life and my Lord and saviour Jesus Christ who has kept and preserved, and without whom there isn't nor will there be me, not to talk of the life I'm being grateful for. That's the first and major constituent of my gratitude－being grateful to God for the life given. Beyond that, I would be grateful for all that there is and has been for me in life. All I was able to achieve which wasn't by my strength, the lessons I gained as I sojourned through life and more.

I wouldn't fail to be grateful for my family. This would make up a great part of my gratitude. I'll remain grateful for my family, their support and love showered on me. Without a doubt, I'm privileged, and I don't nor will I take it for granted. I have friends also to be grateful for. Some became like family and some it was a season they were instrumental, yet they remained unforgettable and a reason to be grateful. If there's one thing I've learnt it's to be appreciative of the gift of good people. And I'm blessed with some.

As my gratitude would go for life, it would encompass the things that mattered in life. And as a summary of it all, I would be grateful for getting to live.

Images are mine.

Thank you for reading!