Power of Gratitude
Linda Tan
June 23, 2008

To this day, I find it incredible that one speech on a particular ordinary morning could bring my life completely around. That speech goes back to a Monthly Sampai Sunday when I was 12 years old.

I had been coming to the Center with my parents since I was five years old. But as a kid, I dreaded the idea of waking up early on a Sunday just to stand there chanting forever. Once Jyorei was done, I would dart to the back of the room with the other kids while the adults stayed behind to listen to Sensei’s lecture. On that particular Sunday, however, for no particular reason I became curious about what these adults were listening to. So I decided to stay behind to listen, and thank God and Meishusama I did!

As a child, I had pretty low self-esteem. I was overweight, not doing well in school, and the kids that I considered ‘best friends’ would shortly leave me to be friends with other kids. What made things worse were times when even my own relatives would poke fun at me about my weight, and constantly compare me to the good ‘apples’ of the family.

I remember many nights when I would cry myself to sleep wishing I had another life. But little did I know, my prayers were going to be answered. Meishusama had clearly planned for me to listen to this particular lecture that Sensei Alan Imai was going to deliver: “The Power of Gratitude.”

You would think that it is common sense that if you are always focused on life’s cup being half empty that you will be an unhappy person. But the concept that Alan Sensei presented to me was very new and it really hit a chord. As Alan Sensei continued talking about gratitude, I began to think about the aspects of my life that I can be thankful for. From the very basics: I was in good health, I had a home, I had plenty to eat, and I have a fun and supportive dad and a kind caring mother. I had toys, birthday parties, and I was born in America. The list went on! How can I not be thankful when another kid my age is ill and living in harsh conditions without his or her parents?

As I began to change the way I viewed my life, I noticed drastic changes started to occur. Miraculously, I was able to focus in school and my grades started to improve. From seventh grade on, I was always part of the honor classes, and I was no longer compared to the good apples of the family. At the same time, I met my true, best friends who are in my life even now and hopefully will be forever. Most of all, I began loving all that life has to offer and the person I was becoming.

Without gratitude, my heart would still be closed and angry at my life. If I could not love myself and my life, how would I be able to share love with others? Gratitude taught me to even to be grateful when I come across challenges or events that might not initially seem pleasant. We have to take life as an entire package—there will be moments where you will find incredible joy—whether it is staring at the stars on a peaceful night, laughing until your stomach hurts with your friends, or holding your baby’s tiny hands as he or she begins to walk. Then there will be moments where you will suffer pain and hardship but in most cases there are valuable lessons and skills to take with you to make you a better person when you overcome them.

Without gratitude, my life would have been closed to true happiness that comes along with loving life and all of God’s creation.