Children, gratitude is one of the most noble qualities every human being must have. Behind each of our victories lies the encouragement, help and guidance of multiple individuals and we must be grateful to all of them. We also learn important lessons from the bitter experiences in life which help us become stronger. So, we ought to be grateful to these experinences and to life itself.
Once, a beggar found a bag of old gold coins lying by the street. He went to the palace and gave the bag to the king, who realized that these were the coins he lost years ago. Pleased with the beggar’s honesty, the king appointed him minister in charge of the royal treasury.
However, the other ministers did not like this at all. After a few days, they reported to the king that multiple items were disappearing from the treasury and alleged that the new minister was behind the disappearances. Every day, the new minister would arrive at and leave the palace with a bundle in hand. The other ministers said that the bundle contained items stolen from the treasury.
The king found this hard to believe and decided to verify the matter for himself. The next day, he hid in the treasury’s loft. As usual, the minister reached the treasury. He opened the bundle and took out some old rags. These were the clothes he used to wear when he was a beggar.
He changed into the tattered robes of the beggar, stood in front of a mirror, and said to himself, 'By God’s grace, you have become a minister. Always be grateful for this. You may lose all this power and prestige tomorrow. Change is the nature of the world, so welcome all the experiences that life gives you and be grateful to life.'
Touched by his intentions, the king climbed down at once and embraced the minister. As there was no heir to the throne, the king declared the minister his successor. Like the minister in the story, we must always have a heart filled with gratitude.
Gratitude is the act of reflecting upon all the support we have received with an attitude of humility. It benefits us more than anything else. We must always be grateful to those who guided us and to the circumstances that led to our success.
We must not become arrogant over our victories or take our privileges for granted. When we lovingly recognize the goodness in another person, we awaken the goodness in ourselves.
When we look back at our life with this attitude, we will realize that we owe so much to thousands of people. It would take lifetimes to repay these debts, especially to nature, and above all, to God. The positivity and goodness that awaken within as a result of gratitude benefit society and the entire world.