It was raining again. For the 3rd time this week, the clouds had decided to unleash their powers exactly when all of us were prepared to go downstairs for our sports period. 4-D looked grim. “Why us?” we howled. “Why couldn’t it rain an hour later during 4-A’s PE period?”
As we stared out of the classroom windows and cursed our luck, the substitute teacher had walked in and made herself comfortable. But the general air of gloominess wasn’t lost on her either. She asked one of the students what the matter was and soon was up and about looking for chalk.
“Students,” she smiled, “Let’s play a game.” Though most of us had no interest in playing these childish indoor games which we well understood were just to keep us busy, we complied. “It’s called name, place, animal, thing.” We sighed. “But with a twist! You have to list the names of people, places, animals and things you love and are thankful to God for. Let’s start!”
What followed was a series of twisted expressions as a result of thinking too hard. We all were forced to forget the rain and the ground and instead, think of everything we already had. After 3 rounds, a few students were called up and asked to share what they had listed down. Some of us had written each other’s names and that brought a smile to many faces. But there was something bothering our teacher. Though we found it quite easy to name the things we were grateful for, the rest of the categories lagged behind.
“The place doesn’t have to be Disney Land or a water park, children. Aren’t you happy you live in a home, cared for by your parents and loved by your siblings? Aren’t your pets your closest friends? Your PS4 and your cool new watch might be your prized possessions but don’t your favorite meals that mummy cooks at home make you even more joyous? Be grateful that you even have a place to call home.”
The rounds that followed didn’t see as many comical faces. We were all still thinking, but our answers had begun flowing naturally. We were looking around us and finding things to be grateful for in every corner, though we hadn’t quite learnt that word yet. “Air! Trees! Sunshine!” One of us even answered RAIN! “It’s so exciting to get drenched and run back home,” he explained.
What we didn’t realize at the time was that we had completely forgotten our disappointment and were instead enjoying what we had and could think of in the moment. The teacher had very carefully made us write down the things we were grateful for, which reinforced a positive outlook on us. The bell rang but most of us didn’t even hear it, we were just so lost in bliss. In the years that followed, we as a class were often faced with challenging situations (or even more challenging surprise tests) but we’d remember that rainy day and the practice of gratitude our teacher had taught us to get over all other rainy days!
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