In today's fast-paced lifestyles, where tedium and irritation seep in, where life often seems to throw us challenges one after the other and there is no end to to-do lists and mundane errands, August on this island, feels like a relief.
It is an opportunity to sit and relax, whether at the beach, in your garden or simply on your front porch or balcony, watching as afternoon slowly mellows into twilight and the cicadas' humming draws out into evening. For many it is a time for re-evaluation, a reset ready for a new beginning in September.
For a winemaker, in Cyprus and elsewhere, August are when the grapes are in the final stages of ripening and preparation for harvesting is underway as they are picked for eating or making wine.The winemaker's fruits of labour reach their end and if the harvest is bountiful, so much the better.
In the same way as grapes are harvested, so too must we cultivate gratitude despite life's setbacks and hurdles. Being simply present in the moment, quietly content and satisfied with what we have is, in today's world, immensely underrated. But it is only in these moments of gratitude, that new blessings arrive, often unexpectedly and unannounced.
It is often the case here in Cyprus, that many fall into the trap of wanting, when what they have is never enough and are easily influenced by others' supposed glamorous and more luxurious lifestyles. They perceive expensive belongings- cars, homes, the latest tech trend or expensive shoe or bag to be of more importance than generosity, humility, integrity or just a simple heartfelt compassion. We lose ourselves in wanting, in never being satisfied in having enough. Often it is the view of ourselves which is lacking. We identify ourselves with wanting and having than with just simply being.
The late American author Melody Beattie once said, "Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend." She also said, "Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow."
Rather than being caught up with what is lacking, we must be thankful for what we have, with the little we have. To someone in this world, it is a lot more than they could ever imagine possible. Someone's little could equate to another's plenty. Gratitude allows us to see this and be at peace with life as it is and look forward to what is to come.
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