Just Say Thank You !

One day Mulla Nasurrudin took his donkey to the near market and sold it for 30 dinars. The man who purchased the donkey is a wise man. He put the donkey for an immediate auction after bought it from Mulla.

“Look at this fine animal” he shouted to the people nearby. “Have you ever seen a better donkey than this? See how strong it is!”

At the end of this sales talk, a man said he would give 40 dinars for it. Another man offered 50 and the third man offered 60. Mulla who was watching was amazed at the interest everyone was showing on the donkey.

Mulla thought himself, “What a fool I was to think it an ordinary animal. It is one of the best donkeys living in this world!” He suddenly realized that the owner had received a good offer and was about to close the bidding for 80 dinars.

“80 dinars one time, 80 dinars two times…”, said the man.

“90 dinars” said Mulla. (link)

Isn’t this true that we seldom value what we have? 

One reason we take things for granted is that they have come easily, naturally without much effort.  Those things which have flown into our life after a lot of hard work achieve a relatively higher value. However, over time we forget about it too and move on to acquire what we don’t have. 

Once Shakespeare said,

I cried when I had no shoes, but I stopped crying when I saw a man without leg.

Psychologically, we tend to overestimate the value of what we don’t have and underestimate the value of what we have. A little deeper look reveals that We consider the things we own as permanent belongings. We assume that they will always stay with us offering the intended, innate benefits. This is the primary reason, we don’t value the things which are actually at work for us.

There are all the more reasons to appreciate our physical bodies. The body has around 30 trillion cells and several muscles, bones, and joints. It has countless biological and chemical interactions occurring 24X7. The body creates 3.8 million new cells every second to keep us alive and fresh. There are 120 billion neurons in the brain continuously firing to perform routine functions. All the coordination across multiple organs is managed seamlessly without our conscious intervention so that we can eat, walk, talk, read, write, play, work, dance, travel, and celebrate.

On a cosmic scale, going by the theory of evolution,  it took 13.7 billion years for the universe to arrive at the sophisticated forms of life that we know. Today the earth has approximately 8.7 million species. They are like top winners of the long race and the outcome of the complex natural selection process. Just even for a single egg to hatch, it requires hundreds of biochemical reactions in series to succeed. An egg must also be protected from predators, weather, and other environmental impacts for a chicken to see the first light. We, humans, are the most privileged species for the power and abilities acquired. A sound individual, living in a well-educated, cultured society with state of art of facilities & technologies is no less than a grand reward!

Just noticing this makes one feel grateful for the grand design and its creator.

 Here is a beautiful story inspired by Zen Koan 

One day a king on his journey home came to the banks of a wide river. Staring at the river, he pondered for hours on just how to cross such a wide barrier.

Just as he was about to give up his pursuit to continue his journey, he saw a great teacher / Zen master on the other side of the river. The King yells over to the teacher, “Oh wise one, can you tell me how to get to the other side of this river”?

The teacher ponders for a moment looks up and down the river and yells back, “Oh King, you are on the other side already”.

The grass is greener on the other side and we take things for granted on our side. On the contrary, we feel sad and disturbed once we lose them or someone takes them away. It should be exactly the other way around. We must value and care for the things we have as they are valuable resources supporting us to live joyfully. At the same time, We should have dispassion for them as all material things are temporary and insentient. They are subjected to decay, degradation, failures, and expiry.  

Take a moment to appreciate what we already have: home, family, job, qualifications, kids, parents, friends, car, and pet.  Many things made our life easy and enjoyable. Some people are always ready to stand for and behind us. We had situations that shaped us to become more resilient & wise. How often do we appreciate them through words or actions?

There are things we received that we never thought we’ll ever have them. The things which were beyond the reach of our imagination are delivered to our doorstep.

When we look back, we have received everything, that we asked for consciously or subconsciously. All that is there and what we have has come from this universe alone. It has been delivered to us through an extensive and complex chain of events.  We need to be undoubtedly grateful to the universe.

As in the Zen story, in all likelihood, we are already on the other side of the river. Crossing the rivers just to be on the other side every time is a futile exercise. Chasing things blindly and out of selfish desire builds a negative attitude, frustration, and resentment.  

A man was running faster to see the God and seek his blessings

Finally with no success, tired and frustrated, he sat down towards the end of his journey.

He turned back a little and was amazed to see God himself standing behind him.

Oh Dear God, where have you been?  I was running to seek your blessings all through my life.. Man said

God smiled and spoke. Son, I was running right behind you to shower my blessings!!

Our existence as a tiny spot on the vast canvas of the universe shows that We are already blessed by divine power. We exactly have what is right for us. We are where we need to be. We need to keep asking the universe for high-quality resources and opportunities. This is to create richer experiences, end suffering, and make a positive impact on communities as much as we can. It could be the best way to return the favor. It is a practical way to say thank you to the divine source as it has never failed to reciprocate and deliver. 

The least needed from us is to Be Just Grateful for Everything and Stay Blessed!!

image: source