Gratitude Is The Memory Of The Heart

Being grateful is more than a courtesy rule. Gratitude is a way of crossing borders to reach a more emotional, personal and even spiritual plane.

Why not thank life for being part of it? Why not recognize others for who they are, and for those facets for which we love them? And even more… Why not thank ourselves for our strength, courage and improvement?

We know, sometimes it is not easy at all to delve into the so-called “knowledge of the heart”, the one that Lao Tzu himself let us intuit with the phrase that gives this article its title. People live almost every day anchored to this brain that guides us along the most objective and rational path, where there are some resentments, some frustrations …

The 4 pillars of gratitude

The simple act of being grateful is already a way of personal liberation. It is to recognize, it is to act with humility and without artifice, learning to value what is really important in life. Let’s talk about it today, delve into the value and power of gratitude.

1. Emotional openness

Why are so many people having a hard time thanking? When we do anything for someone we do not “necessarily” expect that thank you that marks courtesy and good manners.

What we really want is to be recognized, we want it to be understood that we have cared, that we have invested not only time, but also part of our emotions.

People who do not practice gratitude usually have the following characteristics :

• Emotional Denial: They  avoid opening up to others and often act defiantly or self-reliant when in reality, they lack good self-esteem and are quite fragile on the inside.
• They act with a certain selfishness, they practice ingratitude and sometimes even arrogance.
• Not recognizing others also means not recognizing themselves, therefore they are people who lack emotional abilities.

2. Gratitude and recognition are the best gifts of the human being

Few values ​​are as powerful as acknowledging our fellow man through gratitude. It is a universal form of knowledge and union, of joining links. “I recognize you for who you are, for your virtues, for your way of being, and I thank you for being part of my life, enriching it with your presence.”

3. Being grateful is not being in debt

There are those who think that the simple fact of receiving something and having to give thanks immediately means being indebted to that person who has done a certain thing for us. If that feeling remains inside you, that of the obligation to return a favor, we will not be practicing a free, sincere and spontaneous gratitude.

If you do something for your brother, or for your friend, don’t mark an “x” in your diary, hoping that favor will be returned one day or another. You do it because you want to and “because you recognize” that person as part of you, you have done it freely and without expecting anything in return.

Now, we will not wait for the return of that detail, but what we do want is to be recognized. We establish a bond where one and the other form the same entity. It is almost like what the word “Namaste” transmits to us (I greet you and thank you, I recognize you as a divinity, who, at the same time, is part of me).

4. The importance of personal gratitude

We spend half our lives thanking others for things:  the dedication of our family, the altruism of our friends, the affection of our partner or the recognition of those people who enter and leave our life enriching it with their small acts.

Now, have you ever stopped to thank yourself for something? Do you think it is a selfish attitude and somewhat out of tune? Absolutely. It does not matter if you are religious, skeptical or spiritual, self-recognition does not compromise any rules, but is a basic pillar with which to reinforce your self-esteem.

What if from now on we act in a more humble way and value the simplest things in our life? Thank that cool breeze that relieves you in summer, that good decision you made recently, thank you for having your family, that pet that dedicates an eternal love to you.

Give thanks simply for existing, for being well, for understanding that we are nothing more than shooting stars that come and go, and that only seek to live life to the fullest. Why not?