Something that has been on my mind a lot lately is gratitude and what i feel like is it's opposite: entitlement. Sometimes I find myself falling into the trap of entitlement versus being grateful for all that i have and am experiencing. It is very easy to feel entitled. Maybe some of you, like me, have done this before: "I'm doing everything right, why does this have to be so wrong?", "I don't deserve this to happen to me", "I deserve a better( fill in blank) because I did this", and "My peers and parents have it, so I should to."
I have found for me, that a sense of entitlement comes from comparison to something or someone. Which has never been a good thing for me to do. Which often tends to happen when I am struggling with something, big or small.
But I have been trying lately to focus on those who have gone before me, whether it be my ancestors through my family tree or those who lived in the 1500's all the way back to the days of Adam and Eve. And I have found that by focusing ( or remembering) them and their lives and sacrifices; the sense of entitlement easily leaves.
There were so many of them, that had to work for a lot more than I do. They didn't have any of the modern conveniences that I have and take for granted: running water, plumbing, food that I can go to a store and get etc. Some lost children and loved ones through the lack of today's modern medicine. Some gave up their families and even their lives to be a Christian, thus blessing numerous lives through their sacrifice and struggles. Some of which they never saw the fruits of.
I believe that we live in a world full of instant results, or instant fruits per say: We email someone and we get a response back. We cook something in the microwave and it is done in a short matter of time. We flip a light switch and it turns on the light. So with this instantaneous society, I have found that when I have to wait months or even a few years for something that I really want, or want to happen I struggle with patience, and the trap of entitlement tries to make my faith and hope dwindle. I wonder sometimes if we feel so entitled to things because we are used to always getting certain things so easily? Or if it is because we know how possible it is to easily get something based on prior experiences or the experiences we see in other's lives?
Those who had to live in such different times, didn't always know that things could come so easily or that they could even exist. Although there were probably several times when that was their greatest struggle and challenge, it proved to be, I believe, one of their greatest blessings.
They found extreme gratitude and love in what they had, not in what they didn't. They were grateful for their experiences, no matter how hard or easy, and because of that they didn't seem to take very much for granted. They relied on faith, hope and charity.
I am so grateful for those who have gone before me. For those I have never met and that I may never know their names, but who have paved a legacy of truly living and focusing on what really matters in life. I am grateful that when I struggle with feeling entitled to something, that I have them to look to and be taught from, so that I can get my priorities straightened again. I am grateful for the small and large sacrifices that they made, many that I don't even know of, so that I can live in a world with so many choices and conveniences. I feel very blesses to have their examples and lives to look to and remember so that I can make sure that my life can be one worth being remembered as well. It is through their lives and examples, I can more easily count my blessings.
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