If someone were to ask me what I was grateful for five years ago, I was going to say nothing.

In the past, I did not know what it was to be grateful for: I was always stressed, I felt hopeless, I was living with anxiety day in and day out, there were a lot of problems with my family and I felt that there was no way out of my problems; this is the reason why I thought I had nothing to be grateful for

This has all changed since I started to meditate. Since I started to meditate, my perspective on life has all changed. I no longer feel the same way as I did before I started meditation.

Meditation has changed how I think; it has changed my perspective on life, and I see things differently now. I no longer see myself as a victim of circumstances.

We were not born with feelings of inferiority, anger, fear, anxiety, feeling worthless, and many more unwanted emotions.

We were once happy, joyous, and full of life at some point in time. We would play and run around the whole day full of energy and never seemed to become tired, but life seemed to have stolen all of that away as we grew older.

We have accumulated all these distressing emotions throughout our lives without even knowing that we are doing so; it is all automatic. Our life experiences and the habits that we have adopted have changed how we now feel about ourselves.

Meditation enabled me to be able to live a life that I have always longed for—a life that is free from all distressing emotions and constant worries about the future. This does not mean that I no longer face problems, but I am able to face any challenge I come across with a clean mind, a mind that is free from worry, fear, or anger. Facing any challenge with a clean mind free of fear—the fear of failure—greatly increases the odds of success.

At this point, there is more to be grateful for

• I am grateful for the meditation method that enables me to find inner peace and know my purpose in life
• I am grateful to know that the life I live now is greatly determined by how I lived my life in the past, and if I don’t discard the way I lived and my habits, I will relieve the past again and again
• I am grateful for life
• I am grateful for the air I breathe, the food I eat, and the relationships I have

Just like everyone else, I still have goals I want to achieve. I wish for myself to achieve my goals as I wish for them. But most importantly, I wish to have an accepting mind, accepting each and every person the way they are without wanting to change them in any way. I wish for my love of humanity to have no boundaries, restricted by race, gender, color, or ethnic group.

I’m grateful to know that I’ll surely achieve my wishes as I keep cleaning up my negative thoughts and desires through meditation. My life is full of hope. I’m truly grateful.