Over the years I have come across many people who possess more than one virtue and still yet they fail in some other ways, probably in the manner in which they tend to utilize them, and in the same way I have also seen many people who possess just one virtue and with just that one, they stand out tall in the midst of the crowd, what am I saying here? if you can’t put your multiple virtues to good use then it’s literally of no value to possess it, it is one thing to have virtues and it is a different thing to learn how to put those virtues into good use…
As we all know, there are over a thousand and one definitions of the word “virtue” and out of all these definitions, only one of them gave me what I want, the ability of possessing a good quality and putting it/them into good use is what I term as the correct definition of VIRTUE, I said it above ⬆️ that having a virtue is one thing and putting it to good use is another thing, you can have a good virtue and the manner in which you tend to use it is totally wrong…
Just as the saying you must practice what you teach goes, it is same for that of virtue, you must have it, practice it and put it to good use before you can claim to be a virtuous person, simple, effective and easy…
I have a friend who doesn’t joke with the virtue(gratitude), if you are not grateful for any help he renders to you, then he won’t help you another time but him on the other hand doesn’t practice that act of feeling thankful whenever you help him too and still yet he expects it from others and whereas he himself doesn’t practice what he expects of others, this is a bad way of claiming virtuous…
In summary, you must have a virtue, you must practice it and you must put it to good use before you can claim to be virtuous, if you miss any of these steps then that virtue lacks value…
Without wasting too much time on emphasizing the in-depth meaning of virtue, I will be heading into what i have for you all today, something beautiful, short and easy to understand, so I implore you all to move with me…
GRATITUDE IS THE PARENT OF ALL VIRTUES…
I heard this sentence from a seminar I attended many years ago, the seminar was an interesting one, one of the things that was emphasized on that day was gratitude…
He shared an outstanding quote on the word gratitude, he said and I quote;
gratitude cannot be forced, requested or demanded, it can only given…
This quote led me to ask many questions that day and since then I have decided to make gratitude my topmost virtue as a person, I went home that day and made more research on the act of being grateful and in the cause of studying more, I came across the beautiful quote of Marcus Tullius Cicero on the word gratitude…
Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues but the parent of all others…
I came to understand the in-depth meaning of gratitude thanks to these quotes and my research, back to the questions of the day…
I think I have answered the first question in one way or the other but I will still spell it out block for easier reference and understanding, GRATITUDE is that one virtue I believe and expect everyone to possess as a person…
A grateful person will never lack in terms of need, a grateful person will never loose favor in the sight of men, a grateful person will always be a first choice when it comes to giving out help…
It is said in the Yoruba land that; if you can’t be grateful for little you were given yesterday, then you won’t be given sketching big in the future, what is the guarantee that if someone should give something big in the future you will be grateful and whereas you aren’t grateful for the little you were given yesterday, these type of act makes the act of giving valueless…
If you are grateful for the little you were given yesterday, then there is higher chance of getting something bigger from that same person in the future…
Being grateful doesn’t have to be only reciprocated by giving out something to that person when he or she is in need, you can also express gratitude by thanking and appreciating such person for what he or she has done for you, this will make the giver happy and intrigued to give you more in the future…
In the Yoruba land, when an adult gives a child something and he or she doesn’t say thank you, such child is asked to return that thing except he or she says thank you, this is an adult impacting the act of gratitude into a child’s future…
There are different ways of expressing gratitude, you can express it by being thankful and accepting, you can express it by being thankful and appreciative and lastly you can also express by showing kindness to that person another day when he or she is in need but most times, the act of being thankful and appreciative is the best way to express gratitude…
I love it when someone appreciates every little thing he or she is or has been given, it triggers the soft spot inside me and makes me give out more to that person, it makes me happy to give someone something small and for good two days such person still says; thank you for yesterday oh, that is the best way to get more from someone, you must be thankful and appreciative because it opens more door of giving…
I can give my last penny to a grateful person, but over the years I haven’t really come across a major ingrate, the last one i dealt with was the guy I sacrificed my time and effort for and I got nothing but ingratitude at the end of the day, I made time to tutor him for WASSCE at the expense of my promotional examination, I spent enough time with him to help him get equipped for his external exam because he was my friend but after everything, he turned out to be an ingrate…
I have experienced many more ingrates after then but as I said in my last post, I have already understood the fact that not everyone is good and that this world is a mixture of both the good and bad people…
In summary, GRATITUDE should not be underestimated, it opens door more giving, we should never forget to be grateful for every little help rendered to us, saying thank you is the best way to express one’s gratitude…
In conclusion, I possess this particular virtue, i practice it and lastly, I make good use of this particular virtue because that is the key to good living, being grateful for the very little thing open doors for more smaller and larger things in the future, learn how to be grateful at all times…
NB : the above gifs are powered by TENOR…
THANKS FOR READING