I have always considered myself to be appreciative of the many wonderful things Life brought me. But it wasn’t until I started to wholeheartedly reflect on what I perceived as negative in my life that gratitude transformed me and helped me heal my past.

I meditated on painful events of my life with the mindset “What was the hidden gift? What was I supposed to learn?”. As I was writing down the thoughts coming to me, I started to feel how changing my perception of the situation suddenly revealed its gift or the lesson I was supposed to learn.

An ex-boyfriend told me many times that my happiness was the only thing he cared about. Our relationship ended very painfully, though, and I carried bitterness for years. Looking at this relationship with the eyes of gratitude, I realized that he indeed gave me the gift of happiness! He sent me on a path to happiness by inspiring me to make a few important changes in my life, which led me to finally marry the man of my life 13 years later. I no longer carry bitterness towards my ex-boyfriend. I am at peace and grateful for having him in my life.

My arrogant boss made me feel afraid before any interaction I had with him. He was rude to me at times; I always remained polite and was bending over backwards to meet his expectations. As I was journaling about different things I am grateful for, his name came to my mind. What a surprise! At that moment, I saw that my fear of him was actually my fear of being myself! My boss was showing me that I valued more acceptance of others than being true to myself. I didn’t stand for myself since I was afraid my career would be at stake. Today, I don’t feel any grievances towards him and think of him as one of my most important teachers.

As I continued in my gratitude exercise, the list of events and relationships which transformed from being painful to being gifts grew substantially. I realized that I was never really alone in my life and whatever happened in my life had a profound value.

Now I know that Life is always on my side. I trust Life. Everything is happening for my highest good.

Gratitude is the shortest way to happiness. We have a choice in every situation.
Let’s be grateful! Life Loves us!