Gratitude: Absolute vs. Relative
Have been reading a lot of text on spirituality etc. over the last few months and a consistent theme that comes up is around gratitude - how gratitude is the bedrock of happiness, how gratitude turns what we have into enough, how gratitude helps keep things in perspective even when things are not going so well... and that has led me to contemplate and explore the notion of absolute vs. relative gratitude. In my opinion, relative gratitude is much easier to cultivate and often takes the form of "I have X, which is so much more than someone else, and for that I'm grateful" OR "My situation is bad but their situation is worse and, for that, I'm grateful" ... relative gratitude by its very nature and definition, brings a comparison element into gratitude which, to me, is cheating yourself of feeling awash in the joy of gratitude. And, additionally, being in relative gratitude mode exposes you to the risk of unfavorable comparison - just as easy for your insides to trick you into a "I have less than X" as it is for you to convince yourself that you should be grateful because you have more than Y!
Absolute gratitude, on the other hand, is much harder to cultivate and it requires being in a constant state of thankfulness for whatever is in your life (good, bad, ugly) as every event, circumstance, person that you come across is presenting you an opportunity to learn, grow, evolve. Absolute gratitude takes the form of "all is well", "I am blessed", "I am whole", "I am fortunate", "I am in abundance" without regard to anyone else's lot or situation. 3 quotes that I read recently that really resonated with me.
1. The only time you need to look in your neighbor's bowl is to make sure that they have enough.
2. The only person you should be comparing yourself to is the person you were yesterday
3. Comparison is the thief of joy
So, which attitude of gratitude are you cultivating? Would welcome comments/thoughts on this post!
