Gratitude for a nightmare
Here’s a secret for constant happiness: GRATITUDE.
It is impossible to be unhappy when you are grateful for all that you have. This is why they say you should “count your blessings one by one” when you are down. Nothing delusional about this. While we acknowledge our inadequacies and the imperfection of lives, we need not let this balloon and fill up our entire worldview. Try and overcompensate for this unheatlhy habit by thinking of all the things you are grateful for in that moment. This helps to keep things balanced. The things we are grateful for become a personal source of constant emotional support – a calm centre for us to hold on to while the whole world swirls by.
I’m going to stretch this. It is easy to be grateful to things that give off a warm glow: our loved ones, our favourite hobby, fluffy rabbits, our idol, etc. I urge you to cultivate gratitude for things you do not like, things which seem to harm us: our enemies, cold rainy days, layoffs, crocodiles, nightmares. . . You see the truth about yourself from enemies. If you can keep sunny through rainy days, you are unshakable by external circumstances. If you lose your job, you have the real adventure of living a life that’s not all smooth sailing. If you learn to overcome your pet fears, you learn how to eradicate the crippling effects of fear from your life. Often nightmares, of sleep and in life, lead to a chain of events which may not turn out to be all bad, they turn out to be mostly harmless when you keep a balanced view.
Nothing is ever all good or bad. Sometimes something which started off well ends up in a nightmare. Sometimes, something which you did not want happen turns out to be the best thing you ever had happen. My love for the arts created a world of stress and pain – my bout of depression led me to practice yoga – my teaching yoga led me back to understanding the world and my love for the arts. . .Come what may, go what may, if we can grow an attitude of gratitude for our lot in life in the present moment, whatever we are dealt with, NOTHING can bring us down.
It is impossible to be unhappy when you are grateful for all that you have. This is why they say you should “count your blessings one by one” when you are down. Nothing delusional about this. While we acknowledge our inadequacies and the imperfection of lives, we need not let this balloon and fill up our entire worldview. Try and overcompensate for this unheatlhy habit by thinking of all the things you are grateful for in that moment. This helps to keep things balanced. The things we are grateful for become a personal source of constant emotional support – a calm centre for us to hold on to while the whole world swirls by.
I’m going to stretch this. It is easy to be grateful to things that give off a warm glow: our loved ones, our favourite hobby, fluffy rabbits, our idol, etc. I urge you to cultivate gratitude for things you do not like, things which seem to harm us: our enemies, cold rainy days, layoffs, crocodiles, nightmares. . . You see the truth about yourself from enemies. If you can keep sunny through rainy days, you are unshakable by external circumstances. If you lose your job, you have the real adventure of living a life that’s not all smooth sailing. If you learn to overcome your pet fears, you learn how to eradicate the crippling effects of fear from your life. Often nightmares, of sleep and in life, lead to a chain of events which may not turn out to be all bad, they turn out to be mostly harmless when you keep a balanced view.
Nothing is ever all good or bad. Sometimes something which started off well ends up in a nightmare. Sometimes, something which you did not want happen turns out to be the best thing you ever had happen. My love for the arts created a world of stress and pain – my bout of depression led me to practice yoga – my teaching yoga led me back to understanding the world and my love for the arts. . .Come what may, go what may, if we can grow an attitude of gratitude for our lot in life in the present moment, whatever we are dealt with, NOTHING can bring us down.
