Grateful and Contentment
"Gratitude to God is to accept everything, even my problems, with joy." - Mother Teresa.
My list for things I am grateful for is long, very long…
I’m grateful for having a good job.
I’m grateful for my family and friends.
I’m grateful for being a citizen of a great country.
I’m grateful for the roof over my head.
I’m grateful for the food I have to eat.
That’s just a small portion of the list.
However, like any imperfect person, I can’t say I am content with all the blessings I have for which I am grateful. This conundrum has been on my mind for a long time. Perhaps everything I am grateful for can always be better and bigger, as long there is that though, in my mind, it is difficult to be truly grateful and content.
This reminds me of a conversation my husband and I had a few weeks ago. His company opened its office after the COVID lockdown. They offer a fair amount of daily travel allowance and lunch and breakfast for everyone who would like to come back to the office. My immediate reaction was – what a great company that thinks about its employees. However, my husband and some of his colleagues quickly got used to this kind gesture and started offering suggestions for more nutritious and gourmet food, and were hoping the travel allowance was even larger to cover for the closest parking. I think this unfulfilled feeling of never-ending desires is counterproductive. We have to find contentment to enjoy the benefits of gratitude and live an enjoyable life of gratefulness.
I should be grateful for all the blessings in my life. I should be content with all the blessings in my life. The ability to be content and grateful is perhaps the best way to live in a state of gratitude. Being grateful and content at the same time doesn’t mean we have decided to settle for less. As gratefulness enhances our lives with an appreciation for the beautiful things in our lives, contentment at the same time allows us to be satisfied with what we have. As I get older, I started to realize that I would not achieve everything that I want in my life, but of course, I should also try to work hard to get most of the things I aspired for, and at the end, be content and grateful for the results.
