The Key Ingredient
Welcome back - it’s Wednesday, so let's get wandering!
This week's topic is of the utmost importance for anyone hoping to maximize their enjoyment and fulfillment in this life.
It's a quality that tends to be incredibly overlooked, and a mindset that's almost entirely neglected in American culture.
For anyone looking for more — whether it be more joy, more peace, more love, more freedom, or more abundance… there is one key factor that plays a crucial role (though it may seem counterintuitive at times).
The secret ingredient to the best possible quality of life is gratitude.
I learned firsthand about the power of gratitude during my summers abroad, living with a Costa Rican family. This family had very little money to spare, hosting American university students to help make ends meet.
There was no hot water in their showers, nothing more than a rock covering the hole in the ground that served as the drain, and not even one air conditioner in the home of six people (though the sweltering heat and tropical humidity's intensity was relentless).
And yet, despite those challenging circumstances, this family was genuinely happier and more peaceful than almost any affluent family I've known in the United States.
This reality proves that money and materialism does not dictate our sense of contentment.
The big house, fancy car, designer clothes (and all that often accompanies wealth), will never be the reason for our peace or happiness.
What actually will generate our peace and happiness this family had an abundance of — resulting in their high quality of life, regardless of their financial status. Though not rich with money, they are rich with gratitude. They demonstrate an unwavering and wholehearted sense of gratitude, no matter the circumstances.
No matter what they may have lacked, they focused their hearts and minds on what they were blessed to have — a roof over their heads, food on the table, another day having woken up, and arguably most importantly… each other.
This is key: where focus goes, energy flows. So even if you aspire to more, it's essential to focus on being grateful for what you already have.
The American dream focuses so much on the acquisition of more that gratitude, for all we are so lucky to already have, is often lost in the process… and our happiness, peace, and contentment suffers as a result.
The American dream is a never-ending rat race, a carrot dangled just beyond the rabbit's treadmill if we're not mindful of the race that we might be unintentionally participating in.
Every time you reach the next level of success, you will realize that there is still someone richer, with a nicer house, or fancier car… this leaves many people in a state of eternal seeking, and makes satisfaction elusive (if not impossible).
Learn from this wonderful Costa Rican family as I did.
No matter what we lack, we have so much already to be thankful for.
Embrace a grateful heart and watch your blessings multiply… in the process of living gratefully, your life and travels will transform for the better .
xoxo - kell
