The sure way to true happiness.

“Gratitude is a powerful catalyst
for happiness. It’s the spark that lights a fire of joy in your soul.” – Amy Collette

Everyone wants to be happy in themselves and with dear loved ones and in search of happiness, many people do many things and engage in various activities simply to seek happiness but may I submit to you all that the only way to true happiness is gratitude.

The importance of gratitude cannot be overemphasized. A life of gratitude is a meaningful life. To live a life of gratitude is to live a life filled with hope, goodness and wholeness. There are a lot of things that we can be very grateful for, all you need is to look within you and around you.

Things I'm grateful for.

Personally, I have a lot to be grateful for. For starters, the life I'm living is not by my own strength, it is a gift from God and I'm so grateful for it. I'm also very grateful for my immediate and extended family and for the very beautiful souls that I have come to know and care for.

I'm grateful for being able to eat, walk, stand, run and do other things as a human. I'm grateful for sound mind and for the gift of peace that I enjoy daily even in this chaotic world. I'm grateful for the ability to press on even in these hard economic period. Many families are breaking apart as they cannot cope with the burden and responsibility but I manage to scale through each day. I'm grateful for my health and even for times when I felt under the weather but recovered after some medications. I'm grateful for my child and her achievements growing up and academically.

I'm grateful that I have good friends and good acquaintances even after storms of betrayals from wolves in sheep clothing. I'm grateful that I have a job to go to and for the other streams of income that sustain my income. I'm also grateful for the ability to be generous and to share what I have with others and i'm really grateful to be able to put a smile on as many faces as I encounter and lend a helping hand where necessary.

My parents instilled in me and my siblings, the need to be grateful. It began as saying a simple thank you to our parents after every meal or any gift received. This became an intrinsic part of me that till date I have never deviated from that training and I must add that the many blessings of my life came via gratitude.

There's a popular saying in my birthplace which states that..

" He who is grateful for one thing will recieve more things".

I believe that I can say the saying is true because gratitude is a door opener for more blessings. Gratitude is not only expressed verbally or with gift giving, it can also be expressed in actions. When we are joyful in the season we find ourselves in, even while aiming for better things, this is an expression of gratitude. We could choose to be grumpy and complain about being in a particular season of life but what effect will doing that bring?

I may not have all the riches or wealth that I want or desire and I might not be exactly where I envisioned prior but right now I'm happy and content. Gratitude is a lifestyle and believe me it's the best way to live.

Thanks for reading. This is my entry to the day 5 #inleointiative..shalom

Images are mine.