One thing I really admire about Javanese people are their general grateful attitude. It’s not just about being grateful when they have a roof over their head, or food on the table, or friends and family. But when they got misfortunes, they  always try to find the light in things.

Let me give you an example:

Say there’s a car accident, and…

… everything is alright, just a minimal scratch: At least nobody got any damage.

… the car is broken and the person is alright: At least the person is unharmed.

… the person is injured: At least the person was not severely injured, and there are people who helped him/her.

… the person is severely injured: At least he/she is still alive.

… the person died: At least he/she didn’t have to suffer long.

I used to think: What’s the point then? Why be grateful when even in worst case scenario you’d find something to say “at least….”

But most times now, I learned that having this kind of grateful attitude is a good exercise. It helps to realize I’m not the most miserable person in this world because I still have [insert something good here], or at least I didn’t have [insert something really bad here]. It does bring the light into things, and I’m grateful that I could always find something good in my life (I have a good set of working legs, I can smell things, I have people who loves and cares about me, I have internet connection, and hey, I’m still alive and breathing!). And I know that there could always be worse circumstances.

So, yes, I am grateful that my parents taught me this. And yes, sometimes (or often times) I completely forgot about it, especially when I’m in my dramatic moments. But I loved to get reminded of it again, and that’s also why I wrote this post. To remind myself to be grateful .