This article originally appeared on Completed Thoughts.
Gift -- Something given to someone without expectation of return (Webster's Dictionary)
I have a gift for you, and I don't need to be in your presence for you to receive it, because you already have it.
The gift is life.
Now before you run off, just pause for a moment and think about this: Did you pay to be born?
You are alive... and you didn't have to do anything to be born.
Did you pay for your heart, lungs or the air you breathe?
Of course not, it was a gift. Just being alive is a gift, you were given something without any expectation of return. In fact, we don't even really know where our gift comes from. Was it God, the universe, an accident? Everyone has their own beliefs and theories, but it doesn't really matter.
Regardless, life was given to you for free. Your heart cost you nothing, as long as it beats, you're alive.
Dwell on that for a moment. Place your hand on your heart, feel it beat, and say thank you to it for guiding you as it has so far.
You are literally immersed in breath, in air, the single most vital substance for you is literally everywhere around you. And you didn't have to do anything for it.
Now, perhaps you aren't currently happy with your life. Maybe it isn't the way you like it. But, that doesn't mean that life is not a gift. We have all gotten gifts we don't particularly like... but they are still gifts.
And, most importantly, we can still be grateful for it.
So, instead of going around saying that we are entitled to something or deserve something, say thank you, to whomever or whatever. Or simply say you are grateful, if you don't want to direct your gratitude towards anything in particular.
But, take a moment now, pause and wake up. Look around you and realize that everything you see, everything you experience is a gift, and someday it may not be here. And, be grateful that someday it may not be here, for that is precisely what makes it all so precious.
So, imagine you are picking up a handful of sand and letting the sand fall through your fingers. And imagine that each grain of sand is a gift, given to you, and just smile and enjoy as each bit passes through your fingers. And be glad that you even got to pick up a handful of sand in the first place.
The miracle of life is the fact that we are even here.
Yes, life can be stormy, but it is also full of sunshine. Focus on the sunshine and be grateful for it and you will make for yourself a wonderful, happy life.
Thank you for my breath ... thank you for everything I have ... thank you for all my experiences...thank you for my life.
Explore life with the author at Completed Thoughts and share in his gratitude at Good Morning My Love. Follow Richard Kronick on Facebook.