My mother frowned at ingratitude. She made her intention known as far as I can remember. Saying “Thank you” and repeating the phrase “Thank you for yesterday mummy” was a norm. Throughout my childhood, I repeated these phrases many times. It was an abomination not to utter those phrases on waking the morning after my mother bought you anything. We never questioned this notion, that was just the way it was.

Gratitude is not just saying “thanks”, it is far more than that. Gratitude is appreciating NOW, it is appreciating human in general, it is appreciating your situation no matter how bad it might be. It is saying to yourself that you are worth living. It is one of the ingredients to a sustainable life.

However, the challenges of life can sometimes make us forget life little miracles. We sometimes forget the worth of people that truly love us. We ignore the beauty of waking up in the morning. We forget the meaning of a genuine smile. We forget to notice the tweeting of the bird. We forget the importance of living and surviving. Most importantly we forget to appreciate ourselves and the people around us.

We are easily carried away by our emotions and our needs. We search blindly forgetting to give gratitude on where we were and what we have become. In our lust to match up with the society, we sometimes lost our minds. We lost the purpose of living. We lost love and hope. We, however, gain selfishness, ingratitude and emptiness. We see no goodness in people, we lost touch, we lost trust and we develop a little hatred for everything in our lives.

Appreciating what we are, whom we are with and what we do add more meaning to life. Look inward and count all your blessings. Take a deep breath and think of the contribution of people close to you in your life. It is okay to argue, it is okay to point out mistakes; life is a mixture of sweetness and bitterness. Sometimes it’s all sweet and merry. Sometimes it’s all sour and unbearing.

Showing gratitude has more benefits than you can imagine. It has been proven scientifically that showing gratitude can make you happier and more fulfilled in life. According to Harvard Health Publications “gratitude is an attainment associated with emotional maturity”.

Showing gratitude makes people like you more because it promotes trust and natural likeness. If you show gratitude you strengthen the bond of your relationship and deepen the love that connects people to you, therefore, making you more sociable.

Showing gratitude has been proven to increase health. If you appreciate the goodness done for you or the sheer joy of being alive you are likely to have good quality sleep, reduced depression symptoms, fewer aches, pains and increase willingness to look after yourself. Gratitude increases feel-good hormones and reduces the feeling of envy and you will be less stressed. If you truly appreciate what someone has done for you, you would not have any kind of ill-feelings to that person. Gratitude increases self-esteem and reduces selfishness.

Gratitude has been proved to improve your level of spirituality and makes you feel closer to God. The more religious you are, the more gratitude you show and this gives rise to grateful attitude. The more gratitude you show the more you appreciate what you have.

Showing gratitude to little things of life also makes you remember things for longer. It has also been proven that gratitude makes you optimistic about life. If you want to have a great attitude to life, you need to start showing gratitude to little things of life.

Social scientists have proven that gratitude is a key element for a lasting marriage. A marriage devoid of gratitude is definitely heading for destruction. Appreciating your partner’s effort add more to your relationship and your level of satisfaction in your marriage.

Showing gratitude is satisfying and I implore you to have a Gratitude Journal. Before going to bed every night, please write down what you are grateful for. I am grateful for a lot of things, I am grateful for being alive, I am grateful for my family, I am grateful for my friends. I am grateful for being able to put this together. I am so grateful that you take the time to read this. There are so many things to be grateful for.

Please share some of your thought.

 Please share some of your thought. Are you grateful for reading this? Please give it a heart. Share with your friends and family.