The Gift of Gratitude

By Kamali Sampathkumar

As a parent I feel gratitude is important in raising our children in ECK.  It is very easy to grow up and not acknowledge all that we have. The mentality that there is not enough, and we want more, is always around us. It is important to be grateful for what we have. One of the biggest things I can share with my children is to always be grateful for the presence of the MAHANTA and to be grateful for every little gift they receive.

There was a time when my family had to move from our home in Canada to India. It was quite a difficult three and a half years. One night my little one was tired of living in India. She came to me and asked if we could go home to Canada. I told her it was out of my hands; we didn’t have the means at that point. I offered her a spiritual exercise on gratitude and shared with her that when I feel completely drained, I focus on love and gratitude for the presence of the MAHANTA. Some days this gratitude is the only gift that is able to keep me going.

“Let’s thank the MAHANTA for the experience we are having here in India,” I said. “Let’s all do it together and see what happens and see where the MAHANTA takes us.” My two daughters and I started doing this every day.

Although my youngest daughter was really not happy living in India, she continued doing the exercise every day. A month and a half later we were able to move back to Canada. We were all so happy for this gift that came from being grateful for the experience the ECK was giving us in the present moment.

Once we were back in Canada, we were living in a very small apartment for almost a year. It was another opportunity for my youngest to find gratitude. She was, again, not happy about our living situation. She wanted a house. She was not comfortable and was sometimes angry about the way we were living.

I reminded her of our gratitude exercise and suggested she find gratitude for the experiences she was having in the apartment, just like we did when we lived in India. I suggested that maybe these experiences would be helpful to her in the long run. We then started thanking the MAHANTA for the experiences we were having in our apartment.

Two months later we moved to a new place that she was really happy in. She was calmer and able to do her schoolwork. Again, gratitude brought her the change she longed for.

Gratitude has become a big thing in our family. It can shift our attitude and our experiences. It reminds me and my children that not everything is a problem.

I find I am best able to teach my children gratitude through my own actions. I am always expressing my gratitude for the MAHANTA’s presence in every situation. My girls see me do this and they pick up some of it. It is not just me talking about gratitude or teaching them about it. They see that this is who I am.

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Print the Gallery of Gratitude activity sheet to help your child embark on the adventure of finding thanks in many areas of their life!