SHOW GRATITUDE

“One must not call the forest that sheltered one a jungle."
- Unknown.

Recently, I read the story of a dog. The dog walks into a supermarket to buy some groceries. As it walks in, the shoppers are awestruck as they watch the dog bark to draw the salesman’s attention to the shopping bag hung around its neck. Inside the bag are a shopping list and some money. The salesman swiftly takes the dog’s order, fills the bag with the items and the dog runs out of the mart.

Out of curiosity, the salesman follows the dog out of the supermarket. The dog walks to a train station, boards a train and alights at another station. The salesman trails the dog behind till it gets to its destination. It throws itself at the door of the house several times. At last, its owner opens up. The salesman approaches the man behind the door and recounts with amusement all he has seen of the dog.

Angrily, the dog owner alludes that his pet is a ‘stupid dog’. Stunned, the salesman disagrees and reiterates that the opposite is the case. The dog owner replies that he had warned his dog several times to stop forgetting to take the house key when going out.

The moral of the story: we usually magnify the weaknesses of the things we possess over their real value.

It is very easy to fall into the trap of condemning the outgoing year because of the losses, disappointments and the failed dreams one might have experienced. Pause for a moment, are you sure it was all losses for you in 2009? Think back – you had food, clothing, shelter, eyes, ears, feet, hands, friends, memory, love, and other things, including life itself. You definitely have things to be grateful to God for.

What have you been seeing? Have you been seeing a half full glass of water or a half empty glass? You may be a pessimist if you have been seeing the latter. How do you perceive your experiences? Your willingness to see possibilities in your past experiences will give you hope for the future. Be optimistic.

Be upbeat about the coming year. Stop discouragement from preventing you from setting new goals for 2010. As you sail into a new decade, garner strength for renewed vigour, courage and hope. It is definitely not over until it is over. Pull the ropes harder, life is a tug of war.

Never call your dog stupid, never colour your allies bad. “The optimist sees the rose and not the thorns; the pessimist stares at the thorns, oblivious of the rose”, says Kahlil Gibran.


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