The Art of Earning Your Blessings

I am no stranger to the looming idea of something better.  That something better is always a tricky concept to grasp.  In fact, the search for that something better is a constant unattainable chase after an ideal.  It is unattainable, because by definition, there will always be something better.  Once you've reached to the end, you are no longer concerned with what is better, you now have the best.  It's a great thing to be inspired by the idea of something better to improve yourself towards your best potential.  But it can be a trap when you're enticed by the idea of something better, never realizing the value of what you have now.

I once had a teacher who reminded me in order to be happy with what you've got, you must be able to count your blessings.  He didn't just repeat the saying. He sat me down and actually had me list off all the things I felt fortunate about in my life, to remind me that even when we think our lives have taken a turn for the worse, we are certainly not yet at our worst.  And we should be grateful for what we've got.

There is actually a related adage, but I didn't make the connection between the two until more recently.  One of the things my mother reminded me often was: Easy come, easy go.  She often said it to me about my relationships; when I was caught in an infatuation, it was always quick and short-lived.  My mother often tried to warn me that when I just barely hit the surface of everything fantastic and idyllic, I hadn't yet hit beneath in establishing something real.  She was right, because when something comes in your life so easily, it could leave just as quickly.  This, I learned, applied to other things in life: easy money, hasty studying, or even just the cheap thrills of impulse buying.

When I think of the two sayings together, I realized achieving happiness involves an art of earning your blessings.  There is a delicate balance between appreciating what you are fortunate for, while remembering the value of your efforts to get there.  Nothing happens by accident.  Things can occur beyond your understanding, but life is in constant cause and effect.  And for most good things in life, there is a cost.  To me, a cost always involves work.  We either work hard for something, or we work out what we must give or take to get there. Magic doesn't just happen. We don't have fairy godmothers to plop what we want on our laps.  And that's why it's important to remember, in addition to feeling fortunate for what you have, understand that you can't just jump from one fortune to the next.  It always takes work, and that's why it's special.  Don't overlook your endeavors.

As for that lingering thought of what else is out there? Try to feel grateful for what we have in life, while also trying to remember to remain humble for what comes ahead.  We live in an amazing world. We have yet a lot to learn--but with all these opportunities we've got, we sure can be happy.