Skip to main content

Gratitude And What It Means To Me

Gratitude is way overrated. The reason? Isn't it a natural tendency in all of us to be grateful to what has helped us, to what has been advantageous to us. It is in my opinion, an evolutionary and even primal sense within us that does things for selfish reasons. The point is that we are grateful in the hopes that we get more good things from whatever we are grateful for. It is absolutely a selfish feeling. There is nothing selfless about just saying you are grateful to someone or something.

But I suppose we all do it, like bugs attracted to the glowing bright light. And why do we feel grateful for things that are absolutely not under our control at all... like existing? We can all appreciate what we have, what we've been through, the people we know, art, beauty, noble acts, bravery, and maybe for some, even money. While the the disparity between gratefulness and appreciation is perhaps not as great as I put it. Perhaps I am nitpicking, but the word grateful is something that I've not really had in my lexicon of vocabulary. It does have a connotation of being thankful to some divine entity. Maybe not, but its overwhelming usage tarnishes its neutrality.

That's not to say I'm not thankful for all the things that I love, the people I know, and things of beauty. I'm incredibly thankful to have known(and continue to know), and experience all the people and things that make me think that.... there is hope for humanity. It's not all doom and gloom and humanity can overcome all the bullshit in the world. I value all of you, and I only hope for the best(and will do my own best to make sure all of you reach your fullest potential) for all of you. I'll say that I appreciate everything and every moment I've spent with all of you. I do not expect anything in return.

Do not let others tell you otherwise, reach for your ambitions, goals, your dreams. You shouldn't have it any other way. Seek out people who inspire you and do your best all the time. Don't ever give up, make the most of your life. Just go for it! Cast your doubts aside, forget all the excuses. Do this, and I can assure you, you will achieve much success, happiness and wisdom. Much love peeps...

HAPPY NEW YEAR! May 2012 bring you much happiness and joy. 


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The 'Lah' Syndrome - Why lah? Please lah! Don't Lah!

" Why lah ?" a friend inquired with complete terseness. The curt, simple and direct ' Why lah ' cut like a knife and  denotes a measure of bewilderment in the tone of it. I suppose a simpler 'Why?' would have sufficed, but the ' lah ' suffix adds more melodrama where there isn't any. Besides, the ' lah ' has been a staple of Malaysian language inflection for aeons, it is as immovable as a traffic congestion on the Federal Highway. It's not just a Manglish (or an English language) thing too... " Kenapa lah ?" shock, surprise, even a tinge of disappointment. The Malay language is not spared from the ' lah ' contagion. Often used as a suffix that accentuates the dramatic effect of a phrase, ' lah ' could be used in multiple ways: The classic ' Why lah ?' The added for conviction ' Come on lah !' The added for surprise and shock ' WTF lah! ' For added appeal or even being indignant  ...
Post a Comment
Read more

P.G. Wodehouse Carry On Jeeves - I Say! What Ho!

I couldn't let off the chance of owning a P.G. Wodehouse book when I saw the book in a book store shelf. Yes... I'm quite the impulse purchaser of books. This is by no means a bad purchase though as the writing of PG Wodehouse came highly regarded among the English writing circle. I picked Carry on Jeeves... as the first Wodehouse books to own. Possibly his best known series. And by Jove is it a cracker! The Jeeves series follows the comedic exploit of one Bertie Wooster, a little lacking in the intellectual department and his valet(butler) Jeeves, making up for his master's lack of cranial matter. The book is a collection of Bertie and Jeeves stories, loosely connected with the each preceding one. It reads like a television comedy show, with each 'episode' relatively standalone in nature. There is no doubt that this series of books has had a huge influence on British comedy and comedy in general(we've had quite a few of comedy shows featuring a wise cracking ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Homage To Catalonia - Someday I Shall Have Coffee at Huesca

Homage to Catalonia is one of the best(if not the best) wartime accounts from on the the best writer of our times. Serving with the leftist POUM militia(Partido Obrero de Unificación Marxista), Homage to Catalonia captures the optimism and idealism of revolutionary Spain. It then explores the mundaneness of trench warfare, which was more like non warfare. The treachery, living in fear of being outed, street fighting in Barcelona all vividly expressed. Even in the humdrum nature of it all, George Orwell writes a captivating account that manages to share with its readers the horrors and poor conditions of those in the front line and the political backstabbing from those that are far away from the actual fighting. A turbulent history of Spanish history with a huge variety of political entities fighting against fascism and against themselves. Homage to Catalonia ends with the hauntingly prescient paragraph in which Orwell expresses his disdain for his fellow En...
Post a Comment
Read more