LET'S TALK ABOUT: GRATITUDE

Photo by Hanny Naibaho on Unsplash

About one month ago, I experienced the tragedy of my MacBook turning off and not rebooting. Assuming the worst, I was in utter despair at the thought of losing my most precious belonging. As it so happened, it shut down on me during a stay at home in Nottingham, and so when I arrived back to Manchester on the Sunday morning, I raced towards the Apple store with all of my might. On the way, however, I was stopped in my tracks by an overwhelming pang of guilt. Within the five minute walk from Manchester Piccadilly Train Station into the city centre, I had walked past at least three homeless men, begging on their hands and knees for anything that they could get. There I was, in a fluster because my luxury of a laptop had failed on me, when there were people without a penny to their name sitting inches away from me. Needless to say that I felt shameful.

A week or two later, I came across the following saying - 'Go 24 hours without complaining, then see how your life starts changing'. After feeling such remorse about the lucky position that myself and millions of others have in this world, it became strikingly obvious how much I have to be grateful for. Combining this revelation with the challenge to stop complaining, I was overcome with a sense of appreciation and respect for my life and everyone in it. With so much to live for, to go 24 hours without making a single complaint shouldn't seem so difficult. In comparison to the tens of homeless that I pass every single day on the street, I have everything. Absolutely everything. So what is there to complain about? I am grateful for...

→ The loving family and friends that I have, who I can rely on for anything and everything
→ Having enough money to receive higher-education (or education at all, for that matter)
→ A job that I thoroughly enjoy (or again, a job at all)
→ The luxuries of a laptop and a phone
→ The luxuries of shelter and hot water
→ Being able to treat myself to all of the fashion and beauty bits that I discuss on this blog
→ Having the means to run this blog
→ Having enough money to jet off to anywhere that I want for a 'much-needed' holiday
→ The chance to spoil my friends and family with birthday and Christmas presents
→ Being around family for Chrismtas
→ Having the freedom to choose what I do with the majority of my time
→ Living in one of England's most vibrant cities
→ Having access to free health care
→ Having the freedom to vote
→ Being able to laugh at something every single day

The list of what I am grateful for could go on until the end of time. Living in the Western world has given us all the automatic privilege to freedom and more money than we technically need - an easier foundation in life. It doesn't hurt to appreciate all that we have every once in a while. I hold my hands up high and declare that I am as guilty as anybody else at brushing all of that gratitude under the carpet, but I would like things to change. More time for gratitude means less time for complaining - and I will see how my life starts to change. And you should too.