We dwell on things we wish we had, what is not going our way and what we don’t have or have not achieved.
Through this, we get so swamped with the temporary setbacks, that we forget an important part of life is being grateful for what we do have.
Regardless of what we do not have now, how many times do we just sit and be thankful for what is in our lives.
If you have all your limbs and are not sick, how often do you complain about what you feel is not perfect enough on you?
Do you however think, what it would be like if one day, you lost that body part you always complaining about or got terminally ill?
Monthly you buy unnecessary groceries you don’t even need, only to have to throw it out because you have not used it.
But, do you ever stop just for a second to think someone out there might be going to bed without anything to eat?
As a young person, you may be so frustrated that you have strict parents who don’t allow you to do as you please.
Do you however, think of that friend or classmate you know who has to be parent to their siblings just because they have lost their parents?
We spend minutes or hours daily thinking of what we are going to wear, then complain about not having enough clothes.
Do you take time though, to think of that someone out there who has nothing to wear?
As a parent you might be feeling like your child is a problem and wish they could just move out of your house or even die so you can live in peace.
Do you however, realise there are people who yearn to be parents but can’t, due to circumstances beyond their control?
How you wish you had the expensive furniture your neighbours have, another person would say.
What if your house, empty as it may be, were to be repossessed tomorrow?
I don’t get paid enough so I will just do the bare minimal, is what most of us would say.
Do we think though, how many people wish they had our opportunities.
I know most of us are unhappy in at least one if not all spheres of our lives currently.
We are always wishing we could have more or see an improvement in the quality of our lives.
But reality is we sometimes, myself included, end up focusing so much on the negatives, that we forget just to be grateful for the little we have.
Don’t get me wrong, positive change and getting things that we believe will make us happy, is a good thing.
Let’s just not focus so much on what’s not going our way, that we end up forgetting to be thankful.
You are alive, are able to wake up daily to work so you can provide for your family, you always have something to eat and wear, sleep in a warm bed, have someone to call when in trouble etc, but someone else doesn’t.
So no matter how big or small, whether it’s a basic or a luxury you have, there is someone out there in a worse off position than you.
Therefore let us take a moment daily, before complaining, to be grateful and thankful for life, family, friends, shelter, food, happiness, work and whatever else we may possess today.
You never know, life is unpredictable and whatever you are complaining about now, might be gone tomorrow.
