How to be mindful and grateful

"If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway. If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway. The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway. Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway. For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway." Mother Teresa
Today I want to blog about something I feel deeply passionate about. Reading Mother Teresa’s quote made me wonder about life and my role in it. Yes, it seems true what she said, for the human race just seems to be like that: we are never fulfilled. We are always wanting more, and forgetting the good things that are happening in our lives to the degree of being ungrateful.
How quickly do we forget to be grateful and mindful on a busy day when we walk home from work and don’t even realise how beautiful the sun is shining and that we are going back home to our loved ones, to a warm meal that we will cook. Instead we will worry about the endless to-do lists at work that we didn’t manage to accomplish yet once again and we are angry at our boss and a few colleagues for doing this and that or not doing this and that. On our way we pass a mother sitting with her baby on a dirty street wonderig how she will be able to feed her kids today, but people are just passing by and not even looking at her.
But hey, what if you actually don’t just walk past this woman and instead take her around the corner to a sandwich cafe where you watch her and her kid eat their first meal for the day. What if you smile at a total stranger who had one of the toughest days in his life but your smile somehow took off some of his burdens. What if you complemented a self-conscious woman on her beautiful smile?
Now, let’s think further. What if all these what if scenarios were a reality? And what if all the strangers we simply smiled at during the day in turn also smiled at a stranger, or come home happier than usual and are more caring towards their spouses and kids. What if all these scenarios had a chain of effects and one good deed by someone sets in motion a few good deeds by a few people? We don’t need to always think big. A good deed does not need to be something major like donating half your assets to starving kids in Africa (although that of course would be amazing!). What if you just called up your grandma who you haven’t talked to in a while? What if you just forgave your ex boyfriend for cheating on you with your best friend? What if you told your sisters just how much you love them?
Research has found out that before people die and reflect on their lives the things they regret the most, are the things they DIDN’T DO in their lives. So why don’t we just go ahead and follow our dreams? Why don’t we inspire more people to do the same? Why don’t we start living more mindfully and thanking God or whatever higher power you believe in for all the good things that happen in our daily lives?
Yes, why don’t we just start TODAY? Why not start NOW? What are you grateful for right now? What could be your good deed for today? Go out there and smile. Go home and tell your family how much you love them, go and hug your best friend for she is always there for you. These things do make a huge difference! And I do strongly believe that at least a few people won’t forget everything like Mother Teresa claimed...