“Gratitude lifts our eyes off the things we lack so we might see the blessings we possess." —Max Lucado My parents practiced medicine in the academic setting and strove to maintain their values of hard work, ethics, and honesty. My preteen years coincided with a time when the doctor profession was undergoing change. Physicians were still recognized to be part of that noble profession, but private practice and medicine as a business endeavor was becoming more popular in our home town.
Your post really strikes home and humbles me. I had recently read the same quote by Max Lucado, reminding me of the most important things in life: family, cherished friends, health...the true blessings in life.
It is normal human instinct to look at the glass as half empty rather than half full. There is always an instinctive hunger for the more than the contentment with the less. Nothing supports this statement better than the Persian proverb about the complaint for not having the shoe, and not appreciating that at least one has the foot, better than those who have none.
When wishes for more blind our vision, gratitude takes second place to greed.
Gratitude is an attitude and a habit, rather than a commodity that can be bought or exchanged. It comes from genuine knowledge and understanding, not from false assumptions and pretenses. The more one knows, humbler is one’s predisposition. The more are fruits on the tree, lowers are its branches. Gratitude comes naturally in the attitude of those who think positively and in the behavior of those who are contended with themselves.
Spirituality extends the scope of gratitude. In Indian version of spirituality, one can find positivity even in the negativity, one can be grateful for what one does not have also.
Some of the saints and Sufi poets in their extreme state of devotion express their gratitude to the Supreme Lord by saying something like this.
Thank you, God for NOT giving me the prosperity beyond my capacity, excessive profitability from my duties and responsibilities, physical comfort, and lusts in which I may lose myself. I do not seek even the salvation that will devoid me the opportunity to bask in your glory. I would prefer to be your humble and blessed devotee in the service of your lotus feet, in next and in all other lives.
‘Arth na dharm na kaam ruchi, padh na chahon nirvan;
Janm janm rati Ram pad, yahi vardanan aan’
[Bhajan by Goswami Tulsi Das, The composure of Indian scripture, Ramayana]
The best intrinsic and intangible gifts that we have received have been through the expression of gratitude. They have come from our patients who said, God bless you. [Dev bare Kara], and from our students who still keep us in their prayers even after five decades of our association with them.
Mukta is so right in her assessment of us, her parents. We are proud of her and are grateful to God for everything that we are blessed with.
Your post really strikes home and humbles me. I had recently read the same quote by Max Lucado, reminding me of the most important things in life: family, cherished friends, health...the true blessings in life.
It is normal human instinct to look at the glass as half empty rather than half full. There is always an instinctive hunger for the more than the contentment with the less. Nothing supports this statement better than the Persian proverb about the complaint for not having the shoe, and not appreciating that at least one has the foot, better than those who have none.
When wishes for more blind our vision, gratitude takes second place to greed.
Gratitude is an attitude and a habit, rather than a commodity that can be bought or exchanged. It comes from genuine knowledge and understanding, not from false assumptions and pretenses. The more one knows, humbler is one’s predisposition. The more are fruits on the tree, lowers are its branches. Gratitude comes naturally in the attitude of those who think positively and in the behavior of those who are contended with themselves.
Spirituality extends the scope of gratitude. In Indian version of spirituality, one can find positivity even in the negativity, one can be grateful for what one does not have also.
Some of the saints and Sufi poets in their extreme state of devotion express their gratitude to the Supreme Lord by saying something like this.
Thank you, God for NOT giving me the prosperity beyond my capacity, excessive profitability from my duties and responsibilities, physical comfort, and lusts in which I may lose myself. I do not seek even the salvation that will devoid me the opportunity to bask in your glory. I would prefer to be your humble and blessed devotee in the service of your lotus feet, in next and in all other lives.
‘Arth na dharm na kaam ruchi, padh na chahon nirvan;
Janm janm rati Ram pad, yahi vardanan aan’
[Bhajan by Goswami Tulsi Das, The composure of Indian scripture, Ramayana]
The best intrinsic and intangible gifts that we have received have been through the expression of gratitude. They have come from our patients who said, God bless you. [Dev bare Kara], and from our students who still keep us in their prayers even after five decades of our association with them.
Mukta is so right in her assessment of us, her parents. We are proud of her and are grateful to God for everything that we are blessed with.