How To Feel Thankful In All Circumstances | Gelong Thubten

As a monk, I've learned that every situation that normally causes you pain or discomfort is actually an opportunity to develop gratitude. These days, we talk so much about gratitude and how it's important to build the feeling of gratitude. Be grateful for everything. Sometimes we forget that actually to be grateful for life's difficulties or challenges is a very powerful practice. So when you're standing in line or stuck in traffic and you feel that tension build up in your body, that automatic stress reaction, these moments of tension are moments of opportunity because you can relax into the sensation. You can relax your mind and relax your body, and then you're training yourself to reprogram your stress reactions. You're training yourselves in gratitude because next time you're stuck in traffic, you can think, oh, now I can practice that method. So your heart opens to the situation that normally makes your heart close. It's like when you go to the gym and lift weights. You don't want to just lift a feather, you want to lift weights. You need that challenge to give yourself a deeper stretch. So the challenges of life are like a deeper stretch for our awareness, compassion, forgiveness, and gratitude. And this way, you develop gratitude for everything, not just the good things in life.