Gratitude

We’re all hearing this word more and more often. It’s very much in vogue these days, thanks to the self-awareness and mindfulness movements.

But gratitude isn’t just about saying “thank you.”

It’s much more than that. In fact, we don’t even need to say it out loud, but that’s one way to express it.

Gratitude is being able to look at what life presents to us at this very moment. Not what you think you might have in the future, not what you had a few months ago.

Look at the present. And notice that what the present offers you allows you to feel that your needs are being met.

Not in terms of abundance or opulence. But what you have right now is probably more than you’d need to live life to the fullest.

For me, it would be very difficult—I would even say impossible—to perform this “movement,” this exercise, if I were prevented from going out into the streets freely. From being able to leave my home without having to hide in a shelter, at risk of my city being targeted by yet another drone or missile attack.

Is it possible, even under such extreme conditions, to be grateful for what we have?

For me, this is one of the great challenges my religious faith presents. Would I be able to imagine myself in a different situation and still believe I should be grateful for other things, such as my health or even my family?

What is essential for each of us?

What do we consider absolutely essential for living our lives with dignity, and for being grateful for what we have?

“You can chain me, you can torture me, you can even destroy my body, but you will never imprison my mind.” Mahatma Gandhi.

If my freedom were ever taken from me, and if I were attacked, would I be able to focus solely on what cannot be taken from me or destroyed? Or would my mind be somehow disturbed and clouded by the atrocities committed against the body to which it is attached?

I don’t see myself as a martyr, nor can I always understand this somewhat vague and glorified concept in cultures quite different from my own, such as in Islam.

“Everything will pass.” This phrase sums up life in such a simple way that it ends up being almost shocking. If we think about the various episodes of our lives, every moment had its time. They arose as a result of something we may or may not have done, and they eventually faded or ended, also as a result of something we may or may not have done. Nothing will cease to happen simply because we fight to prevent it, or simply because we perceive or categorize it in a certain way.