GRATITUDE: THE KEY TO HAPPINESS"You come to me and complain, ‘Oh, how unhappy I am!’ ‘I see that, but have you said ‘thank you,’ today?’ ‘Thank you? Who should I thank and what have I got to be thankful for?’ ‘Well, can you walk and breathe?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘And did you have breakfast this morning?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘And you can open your mouth to talk?’ ‘Yes, again.’ ‘In that case, you should be grateful to God, because there are people who can neither walk nor eat nor open their mouths.’You are unhappy because it never occurs to you to be grateful. If you want all that to change, you must begin by recognizing that nothing is more wonderful than the fact that you are alive and capable of moving about and seeing and talking. Do you have any idea how many billions and billions of elements and particles are involved simply in keeping a human being alive? You never think of this, so you are always dissatisfied and resentful. Be grateful. Tomorrow morning, as soon as you get up, give thanks to heaven. So many men and women will never wake up again, or will wake up paralyzed. Think of that and say, ‘Thank you, Lord; You have given me life and health today; I promise to do your will.’Your gifts, talents and virtues are, in reality, envoys from heaven, who have made their dwelling in you in order to work through you. You should be aware of this, for the day you begin to be too self-satisfied and proud of your success, as though all the merit belonged to you, these friends will fade away and you will lose that talent or virtue. So many people have lost a talent through pride. And others, on the contrary, have won and amplified their qualities thanks to their humility.Never forget, therefore: the greatest secret, the most important key to your happiness and progress is gratitude. As long as you appreciate all that heaven gives you, it will never abandon you."- Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov: Golden Rules for Everyday Life