Active Gratitude - An Exercise.

Come, let’s take a minute to do a short exercise.

Are you dead? Has your heart stopped beating? Are your hands cold, eyes closed and skin pale? Is your nose stuffed with white wool or your senses gone? No? Okay.

Let’s take a moment to appreciate what we have. The eyes that read this. The fact that we feel and the things that we own. Let us take a moment to slow down, say a small word of thanks. Mutter “I’m grateful” under your breath. Keep muttering it and you’ll find and remember things to be grateful for.

I don’t think we take enough time to say thank you. To appreciate what we have. We spend so much time chasing things, things that are so temporary by the way, that we lose sight of the things that would matter in the end.

You reading this. Think about today. What are you grateful for? No matter how awful the day was, how bleak your life seems to be, there is a silver lining. Something to be positive about. And what about me?

I am thankful I woke up today, so many deaths lately. I am thankful that I am healthy and of a sound mind, the hospitals and psych wards are flooded. I’m thankful for my family. I am thankful for the people around me, they are not perfect but they hold me down. I am thankful for my values, principles and beliefs. Many people are blown by wind.

You know what I’m grateful for the most? I am thankful for life. Buoyant and vibrant life. As vast as the ocean, as shallow as spring. I am grateful for every hard moment, every tear, the fears and the grief of what I lost or couldn’t have. I am also grateful for laughter, joy, strength and the ability to be thankful.

I am not perfect. I still find life quite hectic but it is the diversity in experience that makes it worth living. You reading this, what makes life worth living for you? I’d like to know.

I love life because as unpredictable as it is, it is beautiful. Those moments of joy that follow after intense pain. Those memories of childhood that make me smile at random moments. Those days when rain pours and I just bond with my couch, enjoying the beauty of nature. Life is worth living daily even when it is rough, hard and lonely.

Life is worth living because I have you. Yes, you reading this. Tiny things you do that seem to go unnoticed but leave traces that could be the starting line for another. Steps you take that align you with purpose for the betterment of the world. You may think it’s insignificant but tiny cracks lead to an avalanche. You, whose experience would be passed down to the young minds coming up after you. You, who would pass down a legacy and never be forgotten. You, whose teachings and corrections would stay aflame within an old man who listened to you as a child.

So, I am grateful for the different colours of life. For flame that burns bright red and blue. For Auroras that gleam green in hues. Mostly I am grateful for me and you.