Do you remember Baby Tze Thean who needed help with funding in 2006 but didn’t survive long enough for the intended surgery? Since making a donation to Penang Adventist Hospital for his treatment, I’ve been receiving their nicely published annual reports.
Last year’s report arrived today and it carries a write up on Gratitude.
GRATITUDE
At first glance, gratefulness and gratitude may seem similiar, but really they are quite different. Being grateful is an emotion. And emotion, as we know, are fleeting.
Gratitude resides at a much deeper level than gratefulness. It is embodied in our character and emanates from the core of our being. It changes our lives by affecting how we perceive things and react to our surroundings. It manifests itself in the way we feel and treat others. We feel gratitude when we appreciate life, when we comtemplate nature, and when we dwell on our successful relationships with other people.
Gratitude evokes warmth, radiance and joy. A patient may feel grateful for the funding support she receives from the Penang Adventist Hospital, but it is gratitude that compels her to give back to our charity funds. Philanthropy is the power of gratitude.
Gratitude encompasses more than merely being grateful. All the stories in this book revolve more than being grateful. They are tales of gratitude – they are heartfelt joy, profound relief and boundless thanks. All these feelings which give rise to gratitude, cannot be merely expressed by gratefulness alone.
The Penang Adventist Hospital has the deepest gratitude for our donors and supporters. Our gratitude goes beyond saying ‘thank you’. It inspires us to aim high and continue what we do despite setbacks.
Gratitude is an attitude of the heart. When gratefulness fades away, gratitude remains.
……………………………………………………..
In Malaysia, many still want to make excuses for the mismanagements of our governnent-run hospitals although Malaysia’s public debt has reached 54% of the GDP. ‘Be grateful’ is what everyone says. But if our gratefulness makes us tolerate mediocre public services when so many Malaysians are evidently dependent on the system for something as important as healthcare, then we are not grateful enough. We need to experience greater loss and trauma to feel gratitude before we would acknowledge our shortfalls and press for change, for the betterment of society.
I just read your fantastic post here. I am re posting it on Facebook Fan Page. It seems like we are both fans of the attitude: “Gratitude is good for you.” Grateful Nation is an online community that gives grateful people the opportunity and resources to connect, give back, and be thankful. Jump into the unending cycle of gratitude here at Grateful Nation Thank you, Vanessa