Gratitude - Count your blessings

I remember singing a hymn during my school days in Bishop Cotton Girls' School, a hymn they choose a little too often for our morning assemblies. I realize the true worth of those golden lines, everyday, these days, when I counsel clients.

The lines were- "Count your blessings, name them one by one, Count your blessings, see what God has done. Count your blessings, name them one by one, Count your many blessings, see what God has done. And it will surprise you what the Lord has done."

I suppose these very lines are something that we need to be reminded of ever so often. We are unhappy for the silliest of reasons- because we did not become famous at 21, do not look like photo shopped models on TV, don't earn as much as the CEO of Facebook does, don't own 50 properties by the time our midlife crisis hits us like a bus or something else among a million lines that start with 'what if' and 'I could not'.

Life is short. Everything we achieve here is ephemeral. We can choose to accept, acknowledge, be grateful for and be contented with what we are blessed with or we can look the other way and stay unhappy and make everyone else unhappy around us. Like rot or fungus that spreads out. Misery loves company right?

What's wrong with good old contentment and living for ourselves than trying to prove something to someone else who doesn't matter? or try to achieve something beyond what we are destined to ? or compare yourself to every other person and feel small? What is the point of self deprecation and setting unreasonably unattainable standards and targets and then feeling bad about not reaching that benchmark?

To see a glass filled half way and either say its half full or half empty. That cliche line applies even today- what will it be? Better to bite off only as much as we can chew, right? To live and follow what truly makes us happy. To bear practicality in mind and save for those rainy days. To achieve whats within our limits and most of all to be happy for what we have rather than being sad for the million things we don't.

Count your blessings so far, name them one by one, and it will surprise you as to what you already have been blessed with that you once only wished, prayed, fantasized and dreamt of having. There is not much to lose by being grateful for what we have, rather a lot to gain from gratitude, isn't it?

- Dr Rathi Prabhu


Image source and credit:- a facebook post shared by a friend.