A grateful heart is a magnet of miracles: Jane Fuller
Ever since the creation of this universe, everything has been interconnected, resulting in its creation and survival. God has created this world and rewarded us with countless blessings. Every day, we wake up in the morning to live another day and start this beautiful journey of life by His grace. Accepting God as our Creator and Sustainer makes us liable to express gratitude to Him. Gratitude is expressing thankfulness and acknowledging everything we have received. It is being happy with it, enjoying what we have without dwelling on what we don’t. It is counting our blessings and taking pleasure in everything we possess.
We are all born with some abilities and disabilities. Nature has blessed some with supernatural abilities and others with challenging disabilities. We must keep in mind the people who are born with hindering impairments or who have been rewarded less. As Hellen Keller once said, “I cried because I have no shoes until I met a man with no feet.” When you express gratitude, you feel more positive and intentional. People with an attitude of gratitude are cheerful and optimistic, with lower levels of cortisol, the stress hormone. They have better physical and mental health, are free from depression, and experience lower levels of stress.
Expressing gratitude induces levels of dopamine (the feel-good hormone) and serotonin (the hormone that regulates mood and social behaviour). Grateful individuals have greater overall well-being and satisfaction with life. They are more social, good at communicating, and easily connect with people. Gratitude rewires our brain to extract positive energy and find the positive side of everything, making us feel happy and content.
Dr. Sonja Lyubomirsky, a professor at the University of California, notes in his book “The How of Happiness” that gratitude has many benefits in our daily lives, focusing us on positive experiences, helping us be more connected to others, and increasing our satisfaction with life. As stated in the Quran, “If you are grateful [to Me], I shall most certainly give you more and more” (Surah Ibrahim, 14:7).
Gratitude is an intrinsic part of our spiritual journey. A grateful person is always humble and surrenders themselves to God. In the hustle and bustle of this chaotic world, gratitude is the only tool to calm our minds. Gratitude soothes our souls, lifts our spirits, and acts as a barrier to small and large things that would upset us. It helps overcome feelings of anger, guilt, and self-pity. Gratitude must be experienced and expressed every day. Saying “Thank You” is a worthy gesture, expressed not only occasionally but daily by associating it with the things we see and feel every day—the blessings we enjoy daily.
We must be grateful to the people who are part of our lives, and who have blessed us with their company and time. One of the greatest ways to express gratitude is not just thanking others for what they have given us but striving to pay it forward by giving back to the world and serving the greater good for a greater number of people.
The writer can be reached at ga***********@***il.com