Once upon a time, in a small village, there lived a girl named Shyna who always felt sad. She couldn’t help but think about all the things she didn’t have. She wished for so many things, that her heart felt heavy.
She wanted fancy dresses, and magnificent horse carriages and sparkling jewelry. She would dream about living in a big castle all night long, and in the day she would imagine herself wearing fancy gowns and beautiful skippers as she worked around the house.
Shyna’s mother noticed that she was always sad, one day she asked her daughter what the matter was. Shyna told her mother about how there were so many things she wished she had. Thinking about those things made her gloomy and she couldn’t help but feel low all day. This surprised her mother, who was determined to help her daughter.
So the next evening Shyna sat down with her mother who suggested an idea. She placed a box in front of her daughter and handed her a paper and pencil.
“Today, I want you to make a list of all the things you are grateful for” instructed her mother. “No matter how big or small, write down everything you have been blessed with”.
At first Shyna couldn’t come up with much, but slowly she started noting down even the smallest things in life. She started to realize that there were so many things which give her joy. The smell of rain as it hits the grass, the taste of a warm meal, her mother’s hugs, and so on. As she continued to write the chits and put them in the box, it wasn’t long before the entire box was full! Shyna herself was very surprised she did not realize she had so much to be thankful for.
When Shyna told her mother that the box was full, her mother was filled with joy. “I want you to close your eyes and imagine that this box is very small” said her mother. Shyna complied, and imagined that the box full of her chits was slowly shrinking, till was so small that it was the size of her thumb. “Now I want you keep this tiny box in your heart, so that every time you feel sad, you can take out a chit and remember something you are grateful for “advised her mother.
So from then on wards, Shyna kept her box of gratitude close to her heart. Whenever she would think about the things she didn’t have, she would think about one of the chits she had written and would feel much better. This way she learnt that having gratitude in our heart makes us happier in life and her box of gratitude was oh so dear to her.