From the Principal

GRATITUDE for WHOM & WHAT WE ARE & HAVE 

Our view on life and what life means for us is deepened and made more important by our happiness, and the happiness of others, achieved when we are grateful. It is much better to be thankful and appreciative rather than living with a sense of feeling that life owes us a living or with the belief that we deserve to be respected above and before others.

How interesting if we take the time to ponder on what we have and who we are in the context of gratitude. For what and to whom are we grateful?Some examples to consider are gratitude for good health, good living conditions, good family and good friends. We might be grateful to have a loving and caring family – Mum, Dad, sibling, grandparents and extended family. Our friends may be a source of great joy for us, and we are so appreciative of their presence and company in life.

Gratitude costs nothing but our intention to be truly thankful for the community in which we live, the education we receive, sufficient money, accommodation, and peace of mind. Ungrateful people never consider that not everyone is happy, well in health, financially secure, and has access to a fine education. A self-satisfied outlook on life tends to make people selfish, self-absorbed, narrow in thinking, and mean.

Gratitude begins from an early age. How often do we remind the two year old to say, ‘Thank you’ when receiving a gift or an ice cream. I have often told students and children of mine to say, ‘Please say please and thank you, thank you’. The alternative is rude, bad manners and even vanity or a false sense of entitlement.

Let us be grateful to God for making Australia a beautiful country where we live; for blessing us with the sacredness of life; for dying for us, as Jesus did, so that we may enjoy eternal life. All religions are based on grateful principles. 

We might be grateful for big and major things like life lived well, positive and loving relationships, healthy lifestyle, adequate money, regular food, clear and clean water, warm clothes in winter and summer clothes right now. Alternatively, we might be grateful to whomsoever for smaller things like having the chance to pat my puppy dog, grow some roses in the garden, smell those roses, swim in the sea, and run through the green paddocks.

Gratitude is religious, social, humane and personal characteristics combined and integrated. It is expressed through words, gestures, smiles and handshaking. It never fails to be welcomed by another, rejected by anyone, or unnoticed by a crowd. Show gratitude and discover its power to make yourself happy and the life and feelings of others happy too.

B.E. Hanley OAM

B.A., Dip. Ed. Grad. Dip. Ed. Admin., M.Ed., MACE, FACEL

College Principal