We often think that happiness makes you grateful. But is it true? It is in fact gratefulness that makes you happy.

An inspiring lesson from David Steindl-Rast, a monk and interfaith scholar teaches us to be grateful to be happy.   

Gratefulness happens spontaneously when something valuable is given to us freely. These moments happen once in a while. But we can change our mindset and live gratefully by becoming aware that every moment is given to us for free, and every moment is the most valuable thing that can be given to us.

It is valuable because each moment brings an  opportunity. Be aware of it. Even if you don’t use the opportunity this time, the next moment will bring it again and again. This is the richness of our life. 

David shares a very simple method to be grateful. In fact we learned it in childhood when we were taught to cross the street: Stop. Look. Go.

Stop. It is the most difficult part. Often we can’t stop by ourselves, we need stop signs in our life. It’s up to our own imagination to come up with triggers. 

Look. Once we stopped we can open our eyes and look. We look, we smell, we touch the world around us. Only then we can fully enjoy what is given to us.

Go. We can also open our hearts. When we are open to opportunities, they invite us to do something. You can choose to be grateful!

Grateful people are joyful people, happy people. The one thing all humans have in common is that each of us wants to be happy. And happiness, is born from gratitude.