Given the many challenges in the world, some of us may find it difficult to be grateful amid what, for some, is sheer turmoil and chaos. As usual for most humans, we only care about what affects us, but as the world gets “smaller”, we can easily see suffering at the touch of a button. I’ve been working on keeping perspective on the challenges in my life by remembering that what I consider a challenge is relatively minor compared to what other humans are facing.
I am often reminded of one of my favorite quotes: “Don’t be mad at your circumstances, it will only make them worse.” This quote works on several levels, but most importantly, simply because if you are facing challenges in your life, and you become angry, sad, depressed, etc. (and stay in that state for any significant amount of time), you are simply adding negative energy to the circumstances.
We are not asked to pretend the circumstances aren’t what they are, but if we understand the principles of life, we are asked to choose to meet the challenging circumstances of our lives with a higher energy. Not necessarily an easy task, and maybe not even a quick fix, but this choice offers the possibility of a better outcome than meeting the circumstances with added negativity.
We usually have no idea what a person is going through, and we each get to decide how we handle the circumstances of our lives. Yet, we know that gratitude is one of the most high-frequency emotions. As some of us have the privilege of genuinely giving thanks for the blessings of our lives, we pray that those of us facing unimaginable suffering find the courage to find something to be grateful for and to keep hope alive.