Joy is the simplest form of gratitude. Karl Barth
Small children express their unconditional joy with their cute smile and gurgles; they have no biases, no preferences nor any ill will. Their innocence and simplicity are models of pure unadulterated souls which was perhaps what GOD planned when the human race was created. Are we as uninhibited and carefree when we express our happiness and gratitude? On occasions yes, but most times we tended to filter even our simple human responses through the filters of a subconscious social order.
We (the human race) have, with our acquired knowledge, our yardstick of social hierarchy and using financial status as a barometer made mental segregation amongst ourselves; a social order which is often repressive, inward looking and regressive. Our emotions, our interactions and relationships are funneled through the prism of social order and ironically our funneled responses instead of being pure and undiluted end up stilted, turbid and artificial. Take the simple example of a gift being received or becoming a beneficiary of a favor from another. While our joy and happiness at that point will be at its peak, our gratitude and thanks would possibly never match the same peak of joy and happiness because we would instinctively compare it with the status of the giver and our own standing in the social order.
If social order poses a problem it is nothing compared to our own personal weakness of greed, avaricious and jealousy. This tinged with our inherent tendency to compare, contrast and differentiate between people, things and beliefs is a potent mix that explodes into either a muted response of reserved expressions or a virulent outpouring of sarcasm, if we perceive ourselves as being scorned or sidelined. Gratitude therefore takes on a different hue, where the receiver judges the giver and the gift and selectively expresses his/ her gratitude.
Karl Barth has the simple solution for our human weakness; be grateful to everyone for their tangible and intangible gifts. Be it a broad smile, an expressive handshake, a warm hug or a simple verbal thanks expressed from the heart and conveyed with JOY bonds both to the giver and the receiver in equal measure; for gratitude has no compare and is felt in the heart.
Remember: Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it. William Arthur Ward
Try these:
- Have you ever donated blood? If you haven’t today is good day to go and start the practice of blood donation? If you have, did you really ask who was going to receive it? Are you sure the blood you donate goes to the same person for whom you donated it? Does it bother you as to who receives the blood donated by you? What is the feeling you get when you donate blood?
- Do you really think and plan before you choose a gift for someone? More often than not a gift is given as an obligation being discharged than an expression of genuine affection; do you fall in the same category of gift givers? Have you experienced a feeling of not being appreciated for the efforts you have put in ? Is this feeling because you had more took extra efforts or you felt the appreciation lacked the warmth that you expected?
- How often have you spontaneously called up a friend whom you haven’t been in touch with for a while? Can you take the initiative to meet up with an old teacher / former neighbor / a colleague from a previous workplace and cheer them up with your presence? Do you feel the warmth of their joy on meeting you, in your heart? Is that joy the same as when you first fell in LOVE?
This post is courtesy www.actspot.com
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