Gratitude is a virtue. There is no doubt about it. A man or woman humbles him or herself in order to express their gratefulness to someone else. What is so heavy about the words "thank you"? They defy one of the blackest core aspects of humanity: pride. I have never seen anyone proudly say "thank you". It's next to impossible. The only way this could happen is if someone is being a hypocrite and is using people's value of gratitude to seem higher, thus defeating the entire purpose of humbling oneself to claim gratitude, ergo it is not a true thank you but a lie and a facade. No, one must truly be humble to be thankful.

Such an undervalued virtue... truly. I know many say "thank you" on a regular basis, but even so there is so much people - even myself - take for granted. At random intervals they may stop and think,"Yes, I am truly blessed (whether by yourself or God or some other god is entirely up to your personal beliefs) to have what I have and have done what I have done", but when does gratitude become an integral part of our beings? When do we not even need to will ourselves to be thankful? It is when we are all-aware of that which we have - no matter how much we have - that we are indeed at our humblest and most enlightened. The beggar who loves his destitute life is by far more virtuous thzn the snob, rich noble who grubs for more to fill the veil of emptiness that can only be lifted by gratitude. The truly disgusting ones treat everything they gain as something they deserve and everything they give as a magnanimous charity. Such people... I find it hard to live or even be around. Truly, they are a test of patience, tolerance, and fairness toward others.

What am I thankful for? I am not enlightened. I know that I should be thankful for everything I own, and yet I find gratitude slipping my mind the majority of the time. At the same time, I am more grateful for what I have than many people I know, and I can state this shamelessly as I have seen them take without so much as a nod of the head... but I will name no such people. I fear I may contradict myself and become just as proud as said people I speak of.

And yet, saying that makes me seem egotistical. My stepfather always says,"What's not of God is egotistical". What, exactly, is egotistical? You see, what one sees as proud depends on what one values. A man who humbles himself may be seen exactly as he seems (humble) or may be seen as egotistical because he is trying to be more virtuous than others. People who strut about showing their abilities can be called talented by some or egotistical because they are displaying their gifts shamelessly. Pride is a thinly-veiled devil, a silhouette behind the sheets. It all depends on the individual's views and, universally, on society's beliefs.

But enough of that... I want to plainly say now that I am thankful for everything I have, from my life either painful or pleasant but all rewarding in their unique ways, for my family, for my friends, and, as my drawing has stated, for "A Hand To Hold".