Timing and Gratitude

Observe due measure, for right timing is in all things the most important factor. - Hesiod, Greek didactic poet (~800 BC)

When is it time to be grateful?

It would be easy for me to write a finger wagging paragraph on why you need to be grateful right now and always, but I do not believe that gratitude is something that anyone can force upon another nor do I think it is appropriate to do so. This applies to forcing any belief on another because you assume to know what's best for them better than they themselves do.

I speak of gratitude because I know and live the benefits of being grateful day to day but for others, gratitude is simply not a core influence. There is nothing wrong with this and I do not believe that varying degrees of being grateful simultaneously determine whether or not you're a good person. 

I believe that gratitude is an enhancement to the quality of life we can potentially live and that of the world around us. I think of it, as applied to myself, in two ways: as a metaphorical brand, as if I have been permanently labeled 'grateful' and as a gyroscope of sorts; an inner mechanism or balancing force keeping me allied with that which is important to me. This includes a desire of wanting to be aligned with all that is good in the Universe.

If you've ever gazed through a telescope at planets and stars millions of light years away, you'll begin to appreciate how small we really are and how insignificant our existence is. In the grand scheme of the Universe, time is a concept that, as far as human beings know, only serves us, on our planet. Whether you believe in a divine or otherwise influence or not, it is very hard to argue the validity of whether or not everything that happens in our lives happens for a reason.

I opt for playing it safe. I am grateful now and for all that has yet to come, if only for the opportunity to be present, regardless of circumstance. Because of this, my life is enhanced. In a way, I feel a sense of being prepared.

For others, gratitude comes in the wake of something monumental. It could be good, it could be bad. I cannot be precise, but odds do exist that there will come a time when you will wish you had been grateful for a time long gone when you had or experienced much less or much more.

If I were to answer my initial question from a personal standpoint, I would say that there really is no designated time to be grateful. I want to be aligned with the Universe which, to my understanding, is infinite and thus, so is my gratitude.

So, for me, there is no timing. I am infinitely grateful.