For quite some time, I’ve been noticing a trait that is very common amongst us, irrespective of whether we’re religious or not. We all have, more or less, ingratitude! We don’t have gratitude. The reason I use the word ‘have’ and not ‘show’ is that gratitude is an attitude, it’s a whole different paradigm.
If you have the blessing of gratitude in you, you feel it in your very veins. Your heart feels ‘alhamdulillah‘; you don’t just say it like a ritual. You’re less concerned with what’s missing and you’re thankful for whatever you have. We can’t ever have enough anyway. But we’re always complaining, sometimes with our words, but more often with our attitudes and body language. Maybe we want things to be perfect and when they remain imperfect (as they’re meant to be, this isn’t Jannah), we start complaining. If only we remember that this world is temporary and meant to be stressful.
Just have a look around today and see what people talk about; observe their tones. You’ll see they’re complaining most of the time. I’ve noticed that when I’m in my worst lows, I’m not grateful enough; enough to be thrilled about moments, about the littlest things in life, and to feel content and happy from within.
Being happy in situations you’re put in and being content is gratitude too. Just saying ‘alhamdulillah’ isn’t enough; specially if it’s followed by a ‘but’, it is highly unacceptable. However, it is true that you’re unable to enjoy all the time, specially when you’ve gone through a trauma or when you’re ill. When your body is weak, your emotions weaken and you feel down naturally. That is where righteous companions come in. They will facilitate you and help you remain positive. They won’t just lecture you rather they will make you feel good about yourself. Pray that you’re blessed with such companions and friends throughout your life.
Islam is the perfect way of life, it’s not just a boring set of do’s and don’ts. It teaches us to be content and happy and grateful and to enjoy life. We remain stressed, always on the go and feel responsible for things that aren’t in our circle of control. What we don’t realize is that if we’re having some off time in order to be refreshed and to feel better about ourselves, that too is good as it will bring the bounce back in us and increase our productivity.
Just remember, ingratitude is catching, and so is gratitude. I make this statement on personal experience. So stop complaining and comparing; you’re in the best situation you could possibly be in. Try to be cheerful and grateful and make others feel better around you. Also, make dua for companions who have a positive outlook towards life.
If we don’t feel good and happy with ourselves, how will others be happy with us? And guess what? Gratitude’s a way to get more blessings. 🙂
Allah says in the Quran:
“If you are grateful, I will surely increase you [in favor]; but if you deny, indeed, My punishment is severe.” [Surah Ibrahim: 7]
P.S. It is a complete coincidence that the makers of The Happy Page have now made The Gratitude Page on Facebook. They weren’t inspired by this post. Lol.
title and content ,both are cathchy!