ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE

Thank you, God, for the world so sweet,
Thank you, God, for the food we eat,
Thank you, God, for the birds that sing,
Thank you, God, for everything.

God listens to this prayer from millions of little children all over the world every day. How wonderful these words must sound to Him, even though He hears them so often.

Growing up, I distinctly remember always praying as a family, for everything good that happened that day, thanking God for His blessings and mercies, asking for things we needed, thanking Him for things we received, for food, clothes, house, good health, education, family, friends, teachers, plants, animals…The list was long, but each one of us prayed and thanked, and the others just kept adding to the list as we went along. We even thanked God for things that didn't turn out well, things we lost or things we asked for and did not get. Not everything worked out the way we wanted it, but we were taught to thank God even for those! Why?
Well, we learned that God is kind, loving and giving- always listens to our prayers and provides for all our needs and grants our hearts' wishes. But that is not always the case. Many a time, we don't get what we want because that is something we probably don't need, deserve or is bad for us. Simple!
Now, now, a shiny red bike, or a holiday in Goa, or full marks in my exams, or the boy who always teases me getting hurt or failing in the exams, how can all this not be good for me? Well, it is not so simple then, is it? We were told it means that either it does not fit in with God's purpose for our life, or we will get something whenever, and in whatever measure, that God has planned for us.

Now that we are parents, the responsibility of teaching our children these same things has passed on to us. Why do we need to do it? As parents, it is one of our most important spiritual duties. If we are able to instill an 'attitude of gratitude' in our children, they will always know how to be content with whatever they have. They will be able to understand that a short-term loss may, in fact, be a boon in the long-term. Being grateful will help them to live in the moment, secure in the knowledge that God always provides for our needs, but sometimes withholds certain things because He wants to fulfill a greater purpose through us. If they learn that we already have the greatest gift, life, and everything else that we receive is an added bonus, there will be few reasons to complain, and so many reasons to celebrate.

Warning: Our children will learn all this, in a lesser degree through what we tell them, and in a greater measure by watching our actions and attitude. They always look to us to provide the correct example, so we will first have to learn to live this attitude ourselves, and then we can pass it on. A daily practice of being thankful, reviewing our days' actions and interactions as good, bad or something to be worked on, and staying aware of a Higher Power watching over us and providing for us, this will greatly help our children to feel secure and to stay in God's Grace all their lives.

Juhi Mehta, the quintessential mother-teacher, runs Life Express - an after-school center for children. She can be reached at juhimalini@gmail.com. She also writes 'Reflections of an inner Journey'