Leading a thankful life........

It is like a half glass of water. You can either see it as a half full or half empty. So can you see life. My work has given me the priviledge of seeing how miserable life can be when a person can only see the dark side of everything in their lives. They ALWAYS get so unlucky. They NEVER get what they want. People Never understand what they are talking about or what they are feeling. Nobody can listen. their life is so unbearable that they could die (yet they never die hence their suffering is even dragging on longer than they can bear hence the vicious cycle).

They cannot see that they still have their health despite their abuse of drugs or alcohol. They ignore the fact they still can get all the benefits despite their lack of enthusiasm of earning their own living whatsoever. Instead, they are moaning and groaning about what they are ALWAYS lacking in their lives. Where does thankfulness come in to their life at all? Yet, any good things happened in their life, they would just dismiss them altogether. Instead of feeling thankful, they would say it is their right that is due or it is too little, too late......... How bitter and miserable.

Most of the time, I feel that I need to thank them for letting me see all that and how lucky I am that I am not like on of them.

Yes, we don't ALWAYS get what we want and life is never rosy ALL the time and true, why horrible things has happened to our lives. Yet we are still living!! We still have plenty of chances to get better. Why don't we keep on trying. what have we got to lose while we have nothing else that can be lost anymore??

Instead of imposing all these suggestions to them. i sat there silent, letting them ranting always and hoping to find any rare narrow moment of self awareness that i may have any chance of bring them to this perspective that :actually, compared with most of the world population, you should feel lucky that you can still afford smoking 40 cigarettes a day and a roof to live with pizza deliveries to your door to feed your BMI 35 body.

I have now learned confrontation to let them know how important being thankful is to them is pretty useless technique. they would otherwise be too frightened/naked to see the truth. Such truth can only be accepted if this is coming from their own reflection. By just waiting and listening to them, I have managed to build up rapport with them and almost just being there with them.

I wonder if God is doing the same thing to us: by being patiently waiting for us to change. He has all the time to observe, to listen and to be with us. He never abandon us but he is ALWAYS being with us. This is how thankful we should be. Thankful to be alive. Thankful to enjoy all the good things that have been given to us by God. God has made all that happen. We d have bad times, but as long as we persevere and never give up, the bad times will go and good times will come. Isn't that a fantastic good news.

I guess, being patient and thankful are the two main conditions for living a joyful life. And i thank God for having the chance of knowing that. Amen.