Living A Life Of Gratitude: Look for the good within !

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I am inspired by the following story today:

A certain man planted a rose and watered it faithfully and before it blossomed, he examined it. He saw the bud that would soon blossom, but noticed thorns upon the stem and he thought, "How can any beautiful flower come from a plant burdened with so many sharp thorns?

Saddened by this thought, he neglected to water the rose, and just before it was ready to bloom... it died.

So it is with many people. Within every soul there is a rose. The God-like qualities planted in us at birth, grow amid the thorns of our faults.
Many of us look at ourselves and see only the thorns, the defects.

We despair, thinking that nothing good can possibly come from us. We neglect to water the good within us, and eventually it dies. We never realize our potential.

Some people do not see the rose within themselves; someone else must show it to them. One of the greatest gifts a person can possess is to be able to reach past the thorns of another, and find the rose within them.

It is so easy to focus on all those things we do not have. Most of the time our minds shift towards all the unhappy, sad and depressive experiences. It becomes a pattern in us, the thoughts become repetitive and we feel so unhappy. One fine day, we feel there is nothing good in us and we are bound from within. we think we are no good, and start comparing ourselves with others, and there is nothing in life to be grateful for.

The secret of happiness is to look at what is there within us, to be grateful for our breath, for our capacity to move around, to talk, listen and hear. There is a beautiful song that says counting the blessings, name them one by one, count your many blessings, see what God has done.....