UNCONDITIONAL GRATEFULNESS: I learned the true meaning of unconditional Gratefulness from my daughter when she was only 12 years of age. On some mornings, I would sometimes drive Nisha to school, which was about 15 miles away. One day, I asked her, “Most of the time, you ask me questions. Can I ask you a question?” “Since we’re really early, you have to buy me a McDonald’s breakfast.” “Okay, that’s a deal,” I replied. Sitting at McDonald’s and enjoying our breakfast, I asked, “I want you to think about this seriously. It’s a simple question that you don’t have to answer right away. Here’s the situation: What if God appeared and said, ‘My child, you’ve been a good kid, and because of this, I’ll grant you one wish, whatever you want.’ My question to you is: What would that wish be?” “I can ask for anything?” “Sure, God is all-powerful. He can give you anything.” Nisha thought about it and answered, “I can ask for tons of money?” I replied, “You could ask for unlimited money. He can give it to you.” She thought some more. “If I have all the money in the world, then when I go to the store, I can buy all the things in the store.” “Not only that, you can buy that store, ten stores, all the stores in the world.” Nisha paused a second in thought then said, “But then, the value would be nothing because if I already own all these things, the excitement of when I buy you something or you get me something new ― well, the excitement is gone. The fun of getting things and the warmth of gratefulness I feel in my heart is wonderful and that is far more important to me. I’d completely miss out on that.” “That’s true, maybe that’s why God has given us enough. That keeps us excited about getting new things.” Nisha was silent. “I don’t think I want all the money in the world.” “Then what would you want? You could ask for long life….” “If God can give me long life, I can live forever, right?” “Yup.” “But, Dad, that would be boring. God is very smart. He must have designed something very beautiful for after we die. I would miss out on what happens after death. And living without knowing how long you have is exciting in itself and it brings a feeling of gratefulness for every day I live. I don’t think I want to live longer than what I’m supposed to. Oh, but wait ― God could make me famous. I could become a big star. I could go anywhere and people would stand in line to see me.” “That could happen, too. Do you want to be famous?” She thought again and said, “Yeah…but, I wouldn’t have a private life because no matter where I went, people would be chasing me. I want to do what I want to do when I want. That would be lost. Plus, whenever I got an award or some recognition, because I’m famous, instead of being grateful, I’d become arrogant and conceited.” “To some degree, that’s true,” I replied. Nisha was quiet as she ate her breakfast. She suddenly piped up with “What if I know everything?” Before I could respond, she said, disappointed, “That wouldn’t work ― life would be completely boring as I would already know everything. I wouldn’t be surprised by anything or even in awe of anything. I’d already know everything there is to know, nothing would ever be new. I wouldn’t feel gratefulness for people sharing their knowledge with me. Instead, I would be a complete know-it-all, intimidate people, and no one would want to by my friend. I would become very sad and lonely.” I didn’t say a word, just waited patiently as Nisha thought this through. “Dad, is there something wrong with me if I don’t ask God for anything and just be utterly grateful for what He has already given me?” I couldn’t believe my ears at this little 12-year-old child who had such profound wisdom and understanding. Maybe this is the reason great scholars have called children the fathers of the human race. There’s such purity in them that they are able to see clearly things we grownups can’t see. That wisdom helped me tremendously in finally understanding the meaning of unconditional gratefulness. Finally, I understood that unconditional acceptance and gratitude are the essential elements to practice making my best better and adding the highest value in all facets of life.
Posted on: Wed, 26 Nov 2014 01:12:40 +0000
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