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Gratitude

©2021 by Vernon Miles Kerr, VernonMilesKerr.com

Yesterday, a guy I follow on Twitter asked a challenging question:  “The secret of happiness is__” (no restriction on word count.) Yet, I immediately thought of one word that covers it.

Gratitude.

That’s it. Without gratitude there can be no happiness. Being grateful — for the small things, the big things, the overlooked things — is the first step toward happiness. it’s the gateway to happiness and the portal to happiness. If you don’t approach your goals, your desires your deepest longings through that gate, you won’t appreciate them once you achieve them.

Oh yes, there’s always that “first love” that divine sense of novelty one gets with anything new. But that wears off — without gratitude. (This applies to marriage as well.) When I was a schoolboy, I didn’t collect baseball cards like my buddies. I collectected automobile cards. My favorite was the Mercedes—I dreamed of someday owning one. Finally, past 60, I did. Now when I go to the garage for something and see my beautiful, still glitzy, 4 year-old Benz sitting there, I think, “Who am I, to deserve such a blessing?” It’s the truth.

I think I got my inspiration from King David of the Bible. Anyone who’s read the story knows, in addition to being King of Israel, he was a broken and compromised man. Maybe, that’s why he was made King. “Then David the king went in and sat before the LORD (meditating) and said, “Who am I, O LORD God, and what is my house that You have brought me this far?” 1 Chron 17:16

Even we, unbelievers should recognize the humility, shown by a so-called great man, at the foot of the one who represented the Universe. If we moderns can view ourselves in the same perspective, maybe by starting each day with some meditation, going over the list of things we are thankful for, we will find true, long-lasting happiness.