Do you still remember when you wanted everything you have now?

Because one day, you will have everything you want now and you will still seek more. And you will still worry about how to get more and still feel as if you do not have anything. Every day comes with its challenges and opportunities. It is left for you and me to either focus on the challenges and how it outweighs us or focus on the opportunities in the challenges. I call it the ability to de-focus and re-focus. It is your choice to either place your energy on what drains you or think continually about what energizes you. You have the power to create your energy and swim in it. It is however not enough to just remember the days you wanted everything you have now but to be grateful for the things you have and the things you think you don’t have.

Gratitude is one of the keys to building wealth, and this is because gratitude creates enabling energy for wealth to grow and be grown.

We can say I am grateful for what I have. I am grateful for family and friends, for the people in my life, my community, my workplace, and for the opportunities I have. We can even write them down meticulously for days, weeks, and months and we may still never feel it.

Gratitude can be momentary because often our next thought is I am grateful for everything I have now BUT

… what about the things I still do not have?

… what about the car, I have been asking for?, what about the house I have been dreaming about? What about the money I don’t have? What about my friend that has everything and I don’t have…a lot of “what about”.

Indeed what we are really saying is I am grateful for everything I have now but what about all the ways I am not enough? What about the solutions I will never be clever enough to find?

It is then easy for us to see all the good in others but ourselves. Easy to love the defects in others while the shortcomings in us are our greatest heartbreaks. It is easy for us to appreciate the days when we have the money to spend and seemingly live the lives of our dreams but difficult for us to laugh during the days of horror and panic attacks and unpaid bills. Just looking at our lives for everything we have is only the first small slice of gratitude. It’s easy and feels good but it’s momentary. The pursuit of money is one of the greatest misconceptions of our time.

We always think we will be wealthy when we come to a place in our lives where we can do whatever we want with the money. We term it financial freedom or financial peace. Wealth, however, will never be attained if it is defined as a means to getting everything we want because when you get what you want, you will then feel like you need more. Arthur Schopenhauer said “Wealth is “like seawater: the more you drink, the thirstier you become” I believe a person will only be able to consider themselves wealthy when they are content with what they have presently.

Gratitude brings great contentment. What we see in Nigeria today, is men and women who only seek to gather riches, build houses, buy exotic cars and travel at will. The question then is when does all of this end and where is the room for contentment and gratitude. Do such people ever remember those days when they struggled (if they struggled) for the things they currently have? A life of gathering riches is never enough unless we learn to be grateful for that which we have which possibly will lead to contentment. While money can fulfill needs, if you are one that is just trying to build wealth like crazy, you will never get enough and if you are defining wealth in terms of the acquisition of the currency, it will be so hard to ever feel content.

I came across this story from Mata Amritanandamayi’s article on the real expression of gratitude. Once after a wait of many days, a man was invited to attend a job interview. He did not get the job. Disappointed, he went to a solitary location and sat gazing into the distance. At this time, someone tapped him on his shoulder. When he turned around, he saw a boy wearing dark sunglasses. Even though he felt irritated that his solitude had been disturbed, he asked, what the matter was. Handing over a faded flower, the boy said, “Look, what a beautiful flower.” The man felt annoyed, but containing his anger, replied, “Yes, it’s a nice flower.” The child said, yet again, “Hmm, how fragrant this flower is.” The boy’s comments only made the man angrier. “Is he mad? What fragrance is there in this withering, wild bloom?” he thought. To get rid of the boy, the man said, “Yes, you are right, it is fragrant and beautiful.” Hearing this, the boy replied, “I brought it for you. Please accept it. May God bless you.” Saying so, the boy gave him a heart-warming smile. Seeing the smile, the man felt the burden in his mind lessen. He thanked the boy.

Having enough money will be a constant worry in life if you don’t look at each day and take time to look around you and appreciate the blessings you carry. Take a look at your loved ones so you can be reminded how blessed you are and can be with the little or much that you have today.

Gratitude attracts contentment and this is a great virtue everyone should long for.

Share your thoughts on gratitude and contentment with me.