Gratitude Journal Monday

I don't care who you are or how much or how little money you have. I don't care where you live, what opportunities you've taken or even how many you've missed. I know that you are human. I know that you are living a life. And I know that when we are born, we are born to suffer. Life is hard. There's no way around it. By design, life will test you and, at times, cause you heartache. But despite this, there is so much beauty in life and in living. It is because this life not only serves us in moments brought by suffering, it also gives us the right to pursue happiness.

"I believe that the very purpose of our life is to seek happiness. That is clear. Whether one believes in religion or not, whether one believes in this religion or that religion, we all are seeking something better in life. So, I think, the very motion of our life is towards happiness..." - His Holiness the Dalai Lama

The Dalai Lama has also uttered the following words, getting in the ying with the yang, the black with the white, merging opposite ends of the spectrum.

"There's really no avoiding the fact that suffering is a part of life. And of course we have a natural tendency to dislike our suffering and problems...I mean on your birthday people usually say, 'Happy Birthday!', when actually the day of your birth was the birth of your suffering. But nobody says, 'Happy Birth-of-Sufferingday." - His Holiness the Dalai Lama

At one point we find ourselves in the land of both extremes. But, it is the way in which we handle both extremes that determines our everyday living. Without sadness, can one appreciate happiness? Without failure, can one appreciate triumph? It is between both extremes where happiness lives. It's time to be grateful for the emotional bookends that hold our lives in place.

471. I am grateful for the tribulations that help me to appreciate the triumphs.
472. I am grateful for the sadness, for it allows me full appreciation of happiness.
473. I appreciate the struggle that leads me to victory or defeat.
474. I am grateful our happiness has more to do with how we set our mind and not how we accumulate possessions, power, or praise.
475. I appreciate the entire journey as a whole, not just the ups, but also the downs.

The excerpts found above were shared from a book written by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Howard C. Cutler, M.D. called The Art of Hapiness: A Handbook for Living. 

My hope is you enjoy your week somewhere in the middle. Happy Monday!