The Pursuit of Gratitude!

Be mindful. Be grateful. Be positive. Be true. Be kind.
― Roy T. Bennett

Everybody wants to be happy, but happiness doesn’t come without gratitude, but it’s also impossible to be happy every day because there are so many painful and stressful moments in our lives which makes happiness so out of reach, most days it’s hard to find or even begin to pursue gratitude because there seems to be nothing to be grateful for.

How can one find happiness when a friend or someone close to you totally flips the script and turns on you?

How can you be happy when you feel like your whole life is falling apart?

How can one find happiness when so many people around you are passing on?

Where is the joy in living one day to the next when you’re uncertain of where to put your foot next?

Where is the joy in living a life that feels like you have absolutely no purpose?

Where is the joy in being so overwhelmed you feel so out of touch with everyone around you?

Some of these questions I’ve asked myself, some are from readers who email their comments rather than posting in public forum. I have found it extremely challenging to live with the pain and uncertainty in my life, after so many years, I can now say I can feel it in my body. We can be faced with extraordinary challenges but only by facing those challenges can we not only help ourselves but also help others. As mentioned many in my blogs, a lot of what I write about are from personal experiences.

I have faced numerous challenges. I have faced pain, loss, grief. By sharing those experiences my hope is that I can indirectly help anyone finding themselves in similar situations to cope. Here’s my take on the questions above.

When friends flip the script on you! Let it go, we are all fighting some storm in our lives some may not be as good as navigation as you are. Be grateful for the friendship while it lasted.

When your life starts falling apart, you don’t have to. Don’t lose yourself in the chaos, be grateful that there are better days ahead!

Everyone handles grief and loss differently. Find your coping mechanism and do what’s right for you.

When the ground seems shaky. Keep your stance, some people fall down and for whatever reason refuse to get back up. It may sometimes feel easier to just stay down but the view is so much better from the top.

Somedays I still question my purpose. When I look back on my life, I realise my purpose is multifaceted. My purpose is to help my children find their way in this world, my purpose was to help the elderly gentleman find his way, my purpose was to hold my grandmother’s hand one last time before she left us. If you’re looking for a single purpose in life, you’ll never find it because your purpose doesn’t comprise of just one thing.

Are you out of touch with everyone around you? Or is everyone around you out of touch with you? If you find yourself always being overwhelmed or out of touch with those you associate with. You need to find a new group. I’ve had someone asked, what if these people are family members or my kids. The question remains the same, are you out of touch with them or are they out of touch with you? We can’t very well exchange our family or our children, but we can reevaluate our relationship with them.

Pinned Message: In reality, the secret to finding gratitude all boils down to you! Yes, life can be harsh, it can be painful but if you can find one thing, one simple thing to be grateful for, you can find happiness. The trick is, you have to continuously pursue gratitude, it doesn’t find you, you have to find it. And you have to do this day in and day out to make it sustainable.