It was a small road without any zebra crossing or traffic lights. The big and small cars were rushing by, and it had been almost a minute since I was trying to cross the road. Suddenly, a car came and stopped right before me — the driver hinted at me to cross the road. I passed a smile, bowed my head as a token of gratitude, and went on the other side of the road. The driver also smiled at me, and continued with his journey. A little act of gratitude, that costs nothing, resulted in two very precious smiles.

In our life as well, we are always going somewhere. Yet there are people who would stop for us, make way for us, and ensure that we go on the other side of the road. The Silent Monk is pleasantly surprised to share that still there are people in this world who would keep the needs of others before their own needs. It gives me enough hope that the world shall survive.

Ever since then, I have made it a habit — that whenever I am crossing the road and if any vehicle stops for me — I look at the driver, pass a smile of gratitude and gently bow my head (while definitely keeping track of other vehicles on the road which is very important).

We often relate gratitude as an act of giving, but fail to acknowledge how being grateful can positively impact our own lives.

I. Gratitude helps identify all the important things in life and imparts positivity to fight any adversity.

Ever wondered when you are eating something, and suddenly something gets stuck in only one of your teeth. Our tongue constantly tries to poke that one particular tooth from various directions and angles. We complain, make noise and do every possible effort to eliminate that one particular issue. Our entire attention goes to that one tooth— but did we ever acknowledge or felt grateful for all our remaining teeth?

“We have more to be grateful for than to complain about. Take a moment and count your blessings!”

There are great things happening in our lives, yet our problems take all our attention. Taking a moment to feel grateful can help us identify all the good things life has showered upon us — and this small act can give us hope, courage and positivity to fight all the adversities in our life.

II. Gratitude lets go of your ego.

“We are the ones doing things and are better than others”. As human beings, we have this constant craving to feel great about ourselves, and that the world cannot run without us. Unfortunately, we fail to realize that the graveyard is full of such important people.

The moment we decide to be grateful, we observe the immense power of universe and of amazing people around us. Immediately, we feel that may be we are not the ones always doing things after all. We appreciate the positive impact of universe and of people on our lives — and this immediately wards off our ego.

Ego and Gratitude cannot go together — a moment of gratitude takes away all the ego we have been accumulating for ages.

III. Gratitude helps us re-prioritize important things in our lives.

Pick up a pen and a notebook, and do a simple straight forward exercise. On one page, write down the things we are most grateful for — you will find things such as your family, spending time with your lived ones, the most romantic date, watching your kids grow up. And on another page, note down the things on which we spend most of our time — you will find things such as random project deadlines, endless appraisals, etc.

Life is showering us with so many blessings — yet we fail to recognize them, and do not experience them fully. An act of gratitude helps us re-prioritize all the important things in our life, such that we can appreciate them more.

Coming back to the simple act of bowing — it is in fact a common etiquette in Japan to pay respect to drivers who pave way for pedestrians, by bowing their head after crossing the road. Yet here — not every driver even looks at me, let alone reciprocate my gesture. I immediately compare myself to the luxurious 5-star hotel entrance attendant who keeps on wishing “Good Day” to everyone — most of them do not reciprocate and if anyone does, it is as if they are doing a huge favor on the attendant.

Still, it is all fine with me. I have come to realize that I am primarily doing this for myself. It is just a small act, which will eventually have no impact on either of our lives — but for some reason it helps me feel grateful, and gives me a different perspective to acknowledge all the good things in my life. A journey of thousand miles starts with a single step — and the Silent Monk is very happy to be taking this first step towards a lifetime of gratitude.

Please share your thoughts about the article, and how do you imbibe gratitude in your life. I love to read reflections from all the readers.
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