One of topics I like to tweet the most on Twitter is about gratitude. It is about being grateful no matter how hard the situation is. There was once one of my followers wrote back to me, "You can say that because you're not in my situation. Wait until you're in the same situation as mine and you will not tweet something like that anymore." Another person also did sarcasm to me, "Yeah, say that to people in Ethiopia or those who suffer cancer."
It's true. The harder the situation is, the harder we are to be grateful. But, does that mean it's better not to be grateful when the situation is bad? Maybe the interesting question is, why should we be grateful when everything seems wrong?
When the situation is good, being grateful is something very easy to do. But being grateful in hard situation? Does it mean we have to close eyes and pretend nothing bad happens? Of course not. If there is something I learn from gratitude, it does not depend on the situation. It depends on the way we see it. Perspective.
Be grateful. It does not depend on how your situation is. It depends on how you see your situation.
It may be easier to find many reasons to complain, but not even one reason to be grateful. It may be easier to see what we lack and complain about what we do not have instead of having a thankful heart for what we already have.
Being grateful is all up to us and how we choose to see it. We can choose to focus more on what we have or to focus more on what we do not have. We can choose to look at the positive side or to look at the negative side. We can choose to see the good side of bad things or to see the bad side of good things. You can always find both good and bad sides in everything, even in any situation. If you choose to see the good ones, surely you will be grateful, but if you choose to see the bad ones, there is no doubt you will never feel enough and always complain.
Another thing is, I believe that gratitude is the key to happiness. You can't enjoy life and be happy if you can't be grateful. Even when everything is right, when you're not grateful, you will never feel right. On the other hand, even in the hardest situation, when you learn to be grateful, everything is easier because you don't focus on those things that just make you feel more troubled.
Being grateful is the fastest and easiest way to happiness.
So, back to the question, why should we be grateful when the situation is bad? Here is my answer: It's not easy to be grateful when the situation is not good, but it's always easier when you're grateful. You think how grateful you are depends on how easy or hard your life is, but the truth is, how easy or hard your life is depends on how grateful you are. So, when you're in a bad situation, being grateful can be one powerful key to make everything better.