Uncontrollable Thankfulness

Something we were all taught at a very young age was to say "Thank you" when someone did something for us or to be proper when showing our gratitude. As we got older, the meaning of thankfulness has seemed to disappear and is more of responsibility rather than showing honor and respect. It's as if it's a burden for us to be thankful these days. We struggle to show our appreciation for anything and everything. We are so down in our lives that we don't have thankfulness because if we can't be happy, than others cannot be happy either.


There are two kinds of thankfulness: The first is the kind we show onto others. This comes in the form of words, actions or unspoken body language. These are the outward expressions we were taught from a young age and have progressed throughout our livelihood. As we have gotten older, this kind of thankfulness has changed and no longer is the customary response it was when we were younger. This leads to the second kind of thankfulness. This comes from within and is an internal form of expression.


Something even harder to learn is to be truly thankful from within. It is very easy to tell someone thank you for what they have done, but it is extremely to truly be thankful in your heart. The fact of the matter is you cannot lie to yourself. It is easy to lie onto others and completely deceive them. The reality is that you cannot trick your heart into truly being thankful for all that your life is. Yes, it may not be a perfect life, but you are living, breathing and able to inflict change in this world. Your life can completely suck to you, but may have meaning to someone else. It is understandable that to be thankful for a life that is full of struggles and hardship may nearly be impossible, but for just a second remove yourself from where you are in life and look at others. There will always be someone who is going through something worse and is more thankful then you.


That is hard to swallow and may even feel like a shot in the gut, but it is a reality check that we all need to see. How can we not be thankful for all that we have and are doing when others in the world are going through way worse situations, yet they are so thankful. If we cannot be thankful for the blessed lives we have now, then we will never be thankful ever no matter what the circumstances are. We can be living lavish lifestyles with endless amounts of money, but will never be truly thankful because we will want more. Our inability to be thankful stems directly from within and is the result of the greed we desire endlessly. This adversely affects our ability to be thankful outwardly. We struggle to be thankful to others because we do not know how to be thankful ourselves.


To be thankful, one has to fully release their own desires and see their life in its naturalness. The natural beauty that lies within breathing, seeing, hearing, touching and moving is incredible. To do just one of those is such an amazing gift. How can you not be thankful for a lifelong ability to do at least one of those. You were created by design by Him, and it is our purpose to be thankful always. It's not healthy to not be thankful. It leads to many negative things and can truly hurt you terribly. Make it a habit to see the best in the worst. Be a positive person even when you are positive that everything is negative. Grow in the life you have been given and follow the narrow road to happiness. 


Live to be thankful and be thankful to be living.