# gratitude By [grapefruit](https://paragraph.com/@grapefruit) · 2022-07-19 --- Before this, I didn't know gratitude. Of course, I know what gratitude means and how to do it, but I don't. All I know is that teachers often tell us to be grateful to our parents; parents often teach us to be grateful to those who help you. As for the practice, it is nothing more than a "thank you", a smile, or a little material reward. We are "told" to be grateful since childhood, because that is what a good heart needs. However, this formulaic brainwashing leaves me confused - what is gratitude for? In order to bring yourself closer to the image of "kindness"? ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/f1db0fef8741824bfc61eda724f28c7ad50075c36eb97fff74aa57593473480c.png) This story in "Chicken Soup for the Soul" reminds me deeply—— In New York, there is a young man who tries his best to praise strangers he meets every day with a friendly attitude. His friends were puzzled and thought he was a naive species on the verge of extinction. The young man didn't take it seriously, he said, "I'm just taking the lead. I believe a little compliment can put a driver in a good mood all day, and if he has 20 passengers today, he'll have an attitude toward 20 passengers. Kindness, and these passengers are infected by the driver, and they will also be kind to the people around them. In this way, my kindness can be indirectly conveyed to more than 1,000 people. I want to make New York more human, so that the city can be saved. " He is infecting the people around him with love, just as Zola said - love does not grow old, it retains eternal flame and immortal brilliance, and the existence of the world relies on him as nourishment. It doesn't tell me what gratitude is, but it tells me what love is. I believe that the reason why human beings live in groups in the world is because of the subtle and beautiful emotions between people. Maybe you often quarrel with your parents, but you never allow others to insult your family; maybe you often complain about the harshness of the teacher, but you never allow others to abuse your class; You will never allow others to trample your country... This is our innate intimacy, the unbreakable bond that can be explained by love. ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/2cf145517cd58ae49dd0bc240512b698e4a82fe33d0739199516f01b20903810.png) I love my relatives, I love my friends, I love my teachers, I love my family, I love my collective, I love my motherland, I love my earth, I love all the closely related things on this earth everything! I, we, we all love each other's blood, structure, and soul, because we are all human beings, from the same family that can never be separated! I don't know what gratitude is. I only know that the world needs love and everyone's love. The most beautiful things cannot be seen or touched, but can be felt with the heart, so only by connecting our hearts together can our blocked blood flow, gather, and rush into the ocean. Love needs to be infected. The cry of one person cannot spread all over the world, but the voice of all mankind can shake the earth. When others smile at you, return a smile, he will be happy to smile to more people; when others help you, return a thank you, he will be happy to help more people; when others teach you the truth , In return, he will be happy to teach more people knowledge... We encourage and infect each other unknowingly until everyone smiles. Is this gratitude? I'm still not sure. All I know is that people should put themselves in their shoes, not those who are happier than us, but only those who are more sympathetic than us. When we are encouraged by others in times of hardship, we will remember to encourage those who are more difficult than us; when we are blessed by others in times of misfortune, we will remember to bless those who are more unfortunate than us; When we accept help from others, we will remember to help people who are more down-to-earth than us... We support and rescue each other subtly until everyone is happy. ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/d648c5f8e5c9ae004934d9c916dda98f992764fecdf886d2e9405a95b5c2a78b.png) Should this be gratitude? Maybe. Some people may say that this is too idealistic. However, Shakespeare once said, "Unfortunate! When we indulge in our sins, the wise gods close our eyes." Happiness. Try to think, you can eat delicious meals that your mother or father cooked for you; you can learn infinite knowledge that countless predecessors have discovered at the cost of their lives; you can breathe freely Air, which is deposited by the earth over hundreds of millions of years... If you can imagine their hardships, you will feel so blessed to have it all. This is just gratitude, right? I don't like the word "thankful" very much, it always feels a bit passive, and I like to call it "infection". Our every gratitude is actually infecting more people, intentionally or unintentionally, to feel the subtle and beautiful love between people. Just like "Hell and Heaven" in the book - someone talks to God about heaven and hell. God had brought him to hell, a room with a large crowd around a pot of broth, everyone seemed malnourished, desperate and hungry. Everyone had a spoon that could reach the pot, but the handle was longer than their arm and couldn't get things into their mouths. God took him to heaven again. The conditions here are no different from hell, a pot of broth, a group of people, each with a spoon of the same length, but they are happy and happy. The man said, "I don't understand, why are they happy and the people in hell are miserable?" God smiled and said, "Because the people here feed others." ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/7b47e8a9589e9786aa3bebc35358ee05d1858c1464e586e573835611466fdc55.png) Our earth is called the world because of love. Infection, or gratitude, is to spread the seeds of love. The version of "Chicken Soup for the Soul" that I read hardly mentions the story of gratitude, but I think this idea is hidden behind each of its stories. It tells us what love is, an emotion that has been inexplicable since time immemorial. It taught me to feel love, to enjoy love, to spread love, to infect love, to be grateful for love. Yes, this is gratitude. All love needs to be felt and affirmed. After human beings explore space and conquer nature, they will find that they have a greater ability, that is, the power of love. When this day comes, human civilization will enter a new era. ——"Fa" Chardin Our civilization will enter a new era, because of infection, because of gratitude. --- *Originally published on [grapefruit](https://paragraph.com/@grapefruit/gratitude)*