Gratitude
The other day I had taken my little daughter to the library. There was a lady tutoring his son. The boy was slightly over-active and argumentative. He was wearing a wool Buffalo hat. It was warm in the library, so that seemed out of place. It was also strange that the boy, who is around 7-8 years old, was not in school at this time of the day. But I can't put 2 and 2 together.
I assumed that the lady is home-schooling the boy. Since I was interested about how home-schooling works (what works and what not), I asked her about it. (Although I am a shy introvert, I am not shy from asking people questions when I am curious about something. That is a little oddity I have.) She said she was not homeschooling, but her son missed a lot of classes, so she was trying to help him catch up. At that moment, I notice the thick book she was reading: "CANCER"!
My heart sank. I tried to seem upbeat though. I asked the boy his name, Nicholas, and wished him best of luck with his studies.
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Life is that way. We get selfish and self-centered when left to our devices. We think we have it bad, that we have big challenges. We become drama queens. We are stressed about work, we complain about other small stuff. And occasionally we are hit with an experience like that, where a real challenge presents itself for us or for others, that reminds us how grateful we should have been.
We should not give into entropy and get too self-centered. Everybody has their own problems, challenges, and burdens. And sometimes those are huge challenges. The world would be a better place if we are more grateful for ourselves and for the moment and try to sympathize and help others with their challenges, rather than being self-absorbed with our petty problems.
Here is a related video I came across recently on gratitude.
This one is for kids, but hey it is simple.
I assumed that the lady is home-schooling the boy. Since I was interested about how home-schooling works (what works and what not), I asked her about it. (Although I am a shy introvert, I am not shy from asking people questions when I am curious about something. That is a little oddity I have.) She said she was not homeschooling, but her son missed a lot of classes, so she was trying to help him catch up. At that moment, I notice the thick book she was reading: "CANCER"!
My heart sank. I tried to seem upbeat though. I asked the boy his name, Nicholas, and wished him best of luck with his studies.
---
Life is that way. We get selfish and self-centered when left to our devices. We think we have it bad, that we have big challenges. We become drama queens. We are stressed about work, we complain about other small stuff. And occasionally we are hit with an experience like that, where a real challenge presents itself for us or for others, that reminds us how grateful we should have been.
We should not give into entropy and get too self-centered. Everybody has their own problems, challenges, and burdens. And sometimes those are huge challenges. The world would be a better place if we are more grateful for ourselves and for the moment and try to sympathize and help others with their challenges, rather than being self-absorbed with our petty problems.
Here is a related video I came across recently on gratitude.
This one is for kids, but hey it is simple.
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