Transit Dialog has recently published my essay, The Power of Gratitude. Read it below:
"๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐จ๐ณ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ต๐ถ๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ด ๐ฉ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ญ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ, ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐จ๐ด ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ณ๐ช๐จ๐จ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ."
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฃ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐๐๐ฑ๐ฒ
๐๐บ ๐๐ข๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข ๐๐ข๐ช๐ญ ๐๐ถ๐ค๐ข๐ด
2022 began on a shaky note, with the emergence of the Omnicron variant in the Philippines. While we were given a semblance of normalcy during the holiday season, we quickly realized that we had to take precautionary measures in order to protect ourselves from the new variant. This led to a survival mode which personally felt like a hibernation of sorts.
In the comfort of my own home, I was able to plan, journal, and reflect on the new year. For me, the power of gratitude is crucial even during uncertainty.
Let's face it, life has always been uncertain anyway. It is just that the unknown has been more pronounced with the pandemic. The saying โlife is too shortโ is no longer clichรฉ, as the virus has become too close for comfort.
I am thankful to be alive, healthy, and boosted. The fact that I can write this essay in a well-lit environment means that I am fortunate. I am thankful to have the means to write and reflect on my status quo.
When gratitude is highlighted, blessings are triggered. I believe that when there is an attitude of gratitude, we learn to welcome abundance without guilt or shame. We accept what is given to us because we feel whole.
Gratitude lets us appreciate what we have at a time where there is a health crisis that has robbed us of our normal routines. If there is a sense of overwhelm, then let us focus on the basic things that we can be thankful for. The senses of taste and smell are a good place to start. The ability to inhale and exhale is another. The rest will follow from there.
Another way to harness the power of gratitude is to pass it on. We all have something to share with others. The victims of Typhoon Odette still need our help, so I hope that we could continue offering support to them. We can also offer our time and energy to those who are burdened by the effects of the pandemic.
There is always something that we can do for others, and the generosity that we extend can be the beginning of someoneโs gratefulness to be alive.
There is no doubt that 2022 will have its share of bad days. Life is full of challenges, but we can learn to view them as opportunities instead. When we see them as chances to help ourselves and ease other peopleโs burdens, then we can be thankful for the skills that we have.
We can be grateful for the possibilities that are present in an unbelievable time in history. And we can be thankful to be alive at a time when life seems to be too short.
And when the days seem too long and time seems to become an illusion, always return to the concept of gratitude. Be thankful that you are present here today. Be grateful that your energy lets other people experience life more. Be grateful that you are able to have plans. Be grateful that you have reasons to be thankful for.
When you see a chance for you to help out, do not hesitate to do so. Do not wait until it is too late. It is better to be a blessing to others than to become a burden.
Friends, the only way to continue living is to begin with the power of gratitude. Be grateful for yourself. Be grateful that you showed up today. Be grateful that you can read this. Now, go ahead and be a blessing to others today. You will thank me later.
๐๐ข๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข ๐๐ข๐ช๐ญ ๐. ๐๐ถ๐ค๐ข๐ด ๐ฉ๐ข๐ด ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฐ๐จ๐จ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ฃ๐ด๐ช๐ต๐ฆ, s๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต๐ด๐ข๐ฎ.๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ, ๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐บ 2017 ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐จ๐ถ๐ญ๐ข๐ณ๐ญ๐บ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ง๐ข๐ท๐ฐ๐ณ๐ช๐ต๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ค๐ข๐ญ ๐ง๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ด, ๐ง๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฅ๐ท๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด, ๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ณ๐ช๐ต๐ข๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฅ๐ท๐ฐ๐ค๐ข๐ค๐ช๐ฆ๐ด, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ช๐ข ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ต๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ฉ๐ช๐ฑ๐ด. ๐๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ง๐ช๐ณ๐ด๐ต ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฌ, ๐๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐ญ๐ฐ๐จ ๐๐ช๐ท๐ฆ, ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ช๐ด๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐๐ค๐ต๐ฐ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ณ 2021, ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ช๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฌ, ๐๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐ณ๐ช๐ต๐ฆ ๐๐ช๐ท๐ฆ, ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐๐ฆ๐ค๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ณ 2021.