With the ongoing Islamic month of Ramadan, I decided to choose a quote that is very much on my mind during this season of giving.
‘A grateful heart is a magnet for miracles.’
Why this?
I’m not going to sit here and preach you on the different ways on how to be grateful. Yes, we have read all those posts about taking a moment to appreciate the sunrays at dawn, your child’s laughter or your mum’s home-made food (pre-marriage, because you sure are going to miss it after you move away). I know you are already aware about the act of expressing gratitude.
However, do take a moment and think about the above quote, which shines light upon the importance of expressing gratitude.
Grateful acts don’t necessarily have to result in miracles in your own life, but could be in the lives of people around us. It can be the lives of family, friends or even strangers. Yes, gratitude lifts up ones spirit, radiates positive energy and maintains inner peace, however, it can also create big ripples in the lives of those around us.
There’s this real lovely story that I would like to share with you.
A blind boy was sitting with a hat by his feet that had a few coins. He held a sign which read ‘I am blind. Please help’. Men and women passing by would occasionally throw some coins into his hat. One gentleman approached this young boy, dug his hands into his pocket and dropped some coins into the hat. Next, he took this boy’s sign, turned it around, wrote something on it and put the sign back in its place for people to see. Soon, a lot more people started to give money and the hat started to fill up. Later that day, the gentleman came back to see how the young boy was doing. The blind boy recognized the footsteps and asked the man whether he was the one who wrote on his sign board and to read out what he wrote. The man replied saying , ”I wrote the same truth but in a different way. I only wrote: ”Today is a beautiful day but I cannot see it.”
Why was the second sign much more effective? And wouldn’t you agree that the generous act following the change in the sign board was anything less than a miracle for this blind boy?
If you would like to read my previous ‘Quote of the month’ posts, please click here: