Gratitude

Running water. Electricity. Laughter. Friendship.

There are blessings all around us. Every single day, I barely take notice of things that people would sell themselves for.

Gratitude is hard. It’s human nature to start to take things for granted, no matter how wrong that may be. We get caught up and forget to see the bigger picture. It happens. It’s okay.

I’ve found myself making lists of the things I have to be thankful for, looking around and realizing in a moment of clarity just how much I have in my life. It can help sometimes, remembering that there are people out there who would love to have my life, that I have more than so many ever have.

But that mindset can also be dangerous. Yes, there are people who would love to have my life. Yes, I am incredibly blessed and I need to thank Allah (SWT) over and over again for his mercy.

But…

Feeling guilty for your emotions isn’t gratitude. It’s okay to be unhappy. It’s okay to feel dissatisfied. More, it’s human.

You have a right to your emotions. Suppressing them is ineffective and unhealthy besides.

After all, just as there are people who have less, so are there people who seem to have more. That doesn’t mean you should never be happy for what you have.

Be grateful. Thank Allah (SWT) as often as you can and do appreciate what you have. But don’t invalidate your emotions.

Find a balance. Going to either extreme is just going to make you miserable at the end of the day and that’s definitely not right.