Always be thankful

THIS is a basic attitude to have. It corresponds to the radical

reality that we all depend on God for everything, and in a relative

way, also on others. We have to be wary of the many things that can

undermine this truth.

These days, we can say that we have a convergence of many factors

that can create a perfect storm to desensitize us of this duty. There

are now many distractions that can grab our attention and bring us the

grip of self-absorption.

Our capacity to produce and even to “create” things has tremendously

increased with the great progress of our sciences, arts and

technologies. This development, while having many advantages, can have

the downside of making us more self-absorbed too and to feel

self-sufficient. We would feel less beholden to anyone, including God.

Our awareness of our need to go to God, to feel dependent on him and

indebted to him and to others is slowly but steadily weakened. I don’t

think it’s an exaggeration or a baseless claim to say that fewer

people are saying ‘thank you’ to others, and much less, to God.

But as dramatized in the gospel which talks about Christ meeting 10

lepers (Lk 17,11-19), Christ expects us to be thankful. In this

particular episode, the matter involved is not just a simple human

need, but an extraordinary one, the cure of leprosy. And yet, of the

10, only 1 returned to thank Christ, and he was even a foreigner. The

other 9 forgot, in spite of the great favor given to them.

The story is obviously an image of our usual predicament. We often

fail to thank God, and others, even when we are given a favor that we

can say is not a basic need, but a big, optional one.

To be grateful is a necessity for us. It does us a lot of good. It

keeps alive the reality that we depend on God and others for

everything. It strengthens our intimacy with him, and our awareness

that whatever happens in our life, God is always in control.

It makes us keenly aware of the all-powerful and merciful providence

of God. With that providence, we would know that even the dark,

negative things in life have meaning and purpose. They, at least, give

excitement and beauty in life, because life, without these elements

and when it only has all things bright and rosy, would be boring.

It keeps us humble and simple, traits and virtues that are always

necessary to us, otherwise we start inventing things and distorting

reality. It keeps our feet on the ground even as we let our mind and

heart soar to high heavens.

It makes our heart tender and at the same time strong, a perfect foil

to our tendency to be hardened or to get lost as we tackle life’s many

challenges. In other words, it helps us to maintain our humanity well,

resistant to the temptation to become mechanical and robotic as we

face life’s trials and hardships.

It helps us to be mindful of others, thus strengthening the unity

among ourselves. It will make us more attentive and appreciative of

others and of what they actually do to us, even if they commit some

mistakes. It will tend to loosen the grip of our self-absorption and

the unhealthy sense of self-sufficiency that leads us to selfishness.

With our weaknesses, temptations, distractions and the many other

unfavorable factors we have to contend with these days, we really

would need to exert deliberate effort to cultivate this practice and

habit of being thankful. We should not take it for granted,

considering it unnecessary, superfluous or optional.

We can always start with the little things that happen every day to

develop this attitude of being thankful. If we get to consider things

very closely and objectively, we have every reason to be thankful with

every breath we make.

Let’s hope that we can take this business seriously. Let’s not allow

any opportunity to say ‘thank you’ to pass. And let’s see to it that

we do it sincerely, coming from the heart, avoiding the pitfall of

doing it mechanically.

For this, we need to train our heart to be truly thankful, quick to

realize its basis and purpose. For sure, we would be making a very

beautiful world if we manage to be consistently grateful. We would

have an environment that is healthy and vibrant, quite immunized to

the evils of this world.

We would know how to be at home with God while we explore the world.