I’ve always wanted to visit India, and this summer I finally made it happen! I stayed there for one month and I was fascinated by the colours, the landscapes and the culture of this beautiful country. However, I was too sad to witness the poverty and see people working, living and sleeping on the street. .. I don’t want to say I felt sorry, but I couldn’t help but wonder. The thing that astonished me more was the fact that none of these people seem to be unhappy.. Apart from the fact that there are beggars all over the place, these people seem to be ok with what they have. I was constantly smiling at them and they were smiling back at me in a very ‘warm’ and friendly way, and the fact that I was a kind of a wealthy tourist was remarkable.

In an attempt to refrain from making a judgement about this situation and these people, I realised how lucky I am in my life and for the very first time I felt so grateful for the fact that I do have a full time job. For the fact that I can afford a small one bedroom flat, I have a double bed to sleep onto, as well as for the fact that there are people in my life to take care of me when I need. That was a great lesson that all of these people living in the worst living conditions that one can imagine taught me and I’m very thankful to them.

That feeling of gratitude and thankfulness helped me to manage loads of stress about future career plans, and become less worried about financial issues. Thus, I would like to invite you to experience such feelings by asking you what and who are you grateful and thankful for in your life?
How often do you experience feelings of gratitude and thankfulness?

If you feel and express your gratitude and thankfulness what would that do for you?  What would be the difference?
What daily renewal practice can you create in order to feel more grateful and thankful in your life?