Gratitude: The Beginning of True Happiness


“Life is difficult.” This is the opening line of M. Scott Peck’s classic ‘The Road Less Travelled’ that has sold over 15 million copies worldwide in over forty years. The author clarifies his pungent remark by saying, “It is a great truth because once we truly see this truth, we transcend it ... once it is accepted, the fact that life is difficult no longer matters.”

One of the ways that we transcend the difficulty of life is through gratitude and this is one of the chiefest of human virtues because it can usher in other virtues to cut through life’s most difficult challenges. Yes, we need patience, we need faith, we need courage but we must begin with gratitude if we must unleash these.

When we recognize that life is truly difficult, we begin to realize that to have survived all that we have been through is really a great feat. Little wonder, our life’s stories hold answers to the questions of many others.

Unfortunately, we often get so carried away with the pressures that life throws at us that we forget to be grateful. We are consumed with the thought of where we are going that we forget to be grateful for how far we have come. We are neck-deep in the rat race that we forget to celebrate our own successes even when others covet them.

Should our ingratitude not remind us of how much we have taken grace for granted? Truth be told, we live by the daily bread of grace; we survive and thrive in life not by our merits! And I do not mean to even ask that you count your breath which you could never manufacture, but think about it: that someone spoke a kind word to you yesterday and another did so today, aren’t that acts of grace? In this wicked world, someone reached out to help you in distress, isn’t that another?

But we are so often short-sighted that we overlook these things and pass over them easily. Other times, even when we see the big things to be grateful for, our short-term memory cuts down our gratitude. What more? Ingratitude is at the root of all unhappiness.

Do you want to be happy today? Then you must think. Without reflection, appreciation is shallow, if not impossible. While working, think less of your next job; thank God for the opportunities you have in your current one and the achievements you’ve attained through it. Think about your family – not the weaknesses of your spouse and children that threaten your peace, but their strengths with which they stir up your joy.

Approach this day with an attitude of gratitude. You will be surprised how it will breathe freshness into your work, relationships and your life generally.

Remember also to keep the word of former US President, John F. Kennedy: "As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them."

To your success,

Bright UK
The Chief Scribe

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