Nick Ortner of The Tapping Solution writes this story:
“A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which read, ‘I am blind, please help.’
There were only a few coins in the hat – spare change from folks as they hurried past.
A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. Then he put the sign back in the boy’s hand so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.
Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy.
That afternoon, the man who had changed the sign returned to see how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, ‘Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?’
The man said, ‘I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way.’
I wrote, ‘Today is a beautiful day, but I cannot see it.’”
What a beautiful story to reflect on!” To reflect on what a grateful heart is.
It’s a heart that is filled with joy and wonder at every blessing: big or small, extraordinary or ordinary.
It’s a heart that doesn’t live with a mindset of scarcity: that there is nothing to thank for and to celebrate; nothing to be proud of regarding one’s life and the world around us.
It’s a heart whose eyes are keen at seeing every gift and every benediction from God, even amid crisis, pains, and threats.
It’s a heart that sees the world as a beautiful garden, where like every flower and plant, every person has a place in the world and in the hearts of all.
It’s a heart that sings and gives praise to God, that jumps with joy at every possibility and potential.
A heart that sees opportunity and future in every person in every challenges.
Gratitude then is not just a passing thought, an afterthought, and a yearly celebration. It is a Daily Practice and Prayer, a Ritual.
It does not fail to count every blessing at the breaking of the day and at the end of the night. It’s the most important prayer and ritual of the day!
It looks at the specific, the particular, the simple, and the common gifts: the water we drink and bathe in everyday; the towel that wraps our bodies; the blanket that keeps us warm at night; the pet dog that heals our spirits; the grocery clerk that bags our goods.
A grateful heart responds with generosity. It understands that when one receives, one gives back. Within this heart, giving comes naturally. So a grateful heart serves, takes initiative, cares, forgives, understands.
Indeed, this Thanksgiving weekend is a good time to reflect on what it is to have a grateful heart and to cultivate it.
For as they say, gratitude is an antidote to any feeling of despair, loneliness, disappointment, resentment, and anger.
That is why in the Gospel, praises one of the ten lepers for his grateful heart. After he received healing, he came back to the temple to give thanks and to go back to serving the Lord within his family and community.
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The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Asian Journal, its management, editorial board and staff.
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Fr. Rodel “Odey” Balagtas is the pastor of Incarnation Church in Glendale, California.
