Gratitude can do wonders for your temperament

By Sandeep Chakravorty

‘Gratitude for the gift of life is the primary wellspring of all religions, the hallmark of the mystic, the source of all true art’ – Joanna Macy

Among all human sentiments, having a sense of gratitude towards our benefactors, be it Mother Nature, our parents, family members, friends, the community and the nation is key to mental balance and happiness. A grateful person is good to others, not insecure, and spreads happiness. As the world grapples with the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, let’s step back and think about our place in this tumultuous world. There is much sorrow, despair and anguish around. Many have lost loved ones or are facing economic peril and many are amidst personal struggles. So, do we engulf ourselves in gloom and desolation or try to catch straws in the wind and find warmth in rays of hope? In such moments of despair, the responsibility of spreading optimism, hope and positivity rests on those who have survived and lived to carry on and others who escaped unscathed. We have much to be thankful and grateful for.

It is not surprising that gratitude itself has long been appreciated by human civilisation. The word derives from the Latin, ‘gratus’ meaning pleasing or thankful. It is a feeling of appreciation or similar positive response shown by the recipient of kindness, towards the giver. Gratus is also the root of related terms such as grace, gratuity and gratis, all signifying positive moods, actions and ideas. Gratus has Proto-Indo-European origin, ‘gwere’, meaning to praise, to celebrate; to be in contact with the Divine. So being grateful is equivalent to feeling the presence of the Divine in our lives. It might also be, in its own right, an actual and simple path to spirituality. So even etymologically it reveals itself to be an ancient and universal sentiment.

Now, is being grateful an outcome of natural predisposition or choice? It is the latter. Just a little gratitude can do wonders for one’s temperament. A Harvard University study has shown that gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with a greater sense of happiness. No wonder it is intrinsic in most religious discourses and many practise saying a prayer of gratitude before meals.

So, if gratitude is a matter of choice, and being grateful makes one happy, clearly it needs wider application than just being part of our prayers.

Most of us are not conscious of how fortunate we are. Despite all the calamities that we are facing, as humans our lot has never been better; generally free of famine, genocide, war, pillage and disease, the pandemic notwithstanding. So, awareness and consciousness about our state of being can make us grateful.

Association with spiritual masters allows us to take a shortcut to reach our destination of grateful bliss. Reading the Bhagwad Gita and its various interpretations gives one contentment and the feeling of gratefulness. The world around us, nature, our country, family and friends give us so much. As a return gift we can choose gratitude.

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