LESSON: 7
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Introduction: Introduce the children to the difference between desire and gratitude
Goals: To make the children understand desire vs.gratitude
Click: Desire vs. Gratitude
About the topic: An important thing we need to understand is that desire and gratitude can never co-exist. When you feel one desire after another, it means that you not living with gratitude. When you live with gratitude, you can never have any desires. When you live with gratitude, whatever is given to you will simply fulfill whatever next you need at the moment, that all. Things are always perfect when you function with gratitude. Otherwise, things are always lacking. Our ego always swallows everything and asks for more, the ego that prevents us from enjoying what is being showered upon us. Whether you want to base your life on asking or on gratitude is entirely up to you. Gratitude is not some kind of morality that can be imposed on you from outside. It is an attitude that has to flower from within. When real gratitude happens it can transform your whole perception of life and bring lasting peace and joy for you. The only way to have a live connection with reality is by dropping our conditioning, our ego breaking the wall we have built around our self. When we love, and are flowing and filled with gratitude. We will always have a sense of fulfillment, not because of any gains but because it has become our very being. This fulfillment is the ultimate fulfillment that every man is seeking. The best way to become grateful is to learn to enjoy without a reason. Enjoy everything that you see, everything that you hear and everything you do. When we have real gratitude our body language can convey the state of gratitude. Instead of celebrating, we are all the time searching for more, searching for miracles. Miracles are never done, they simply happen continuously around us. When you express gratitude we feel happy, compassionate and peaceful. Love connected with gratitude is complete trust. Discontentment cannot come from the heart. It is purely a product of mind.
[Figure: Gratitude icon]
We have to remember life itself is a gift for us. Everything becomes small to us when it is easily available. There are so many millions of people in this world who can't see, who can't hear, who can't talk, or taste. We never think of all these things. We are always thinking of what's more? What's better? What's next? Until something comes to us it seems very precious and we remain in anxiety but the moment it comes, it loses its value and we move on. We always live with a 'what's next?' attitude. We are unable to relate to gratitude because of this, we always feel that something that we don't have is as big as a mountain, without which we cannot survive, but when we actually get it, somehow it becomes too small a thing. This is how we miss the wonderful attitude of gratitude in our live.
Assessment: • What is desire? • What is gratitude? • Can desire and gratitude co-exist? • Why can't desire and gratitude co-exist? • When we will have a sense of fulfillment? • What prevents us from enjoying life?
Art of the day - Making play dough shapes with eyes open and closed
Materials Needed: Play dough, Moulds
Procedure: Give each child play dough and different moulds. Encourage them to make different shapes with their hands with eyes open and with their eyes closed. Ask them to express how they felt while doing the activity? Which one was easier? They can also do this activity using moulds to make different structures.
Interpretation: Eyes are very useful to us. It helps us to do many activities. There are some people who are visually challenged we must have the gratitude towards our eyes.
Activity of the day - Ice cube and water
This is a deep concept that is clearly illustrated by this very simple activity.
Material required:
Ice cubes.
glass of water.
Bowl
Presentation:
1. Discuss about ego that is represented by ice. And gratitude is represented by water.
2. When a person has ego, it is like holding ice in our palm. After sometime our palm feels uncomfortable and it hurts.
3. But when the ego ice is added to the water of gratitude it dissolves. Gratitude overcomes ego.
4. Ego does not enter when we are happy and overflowing with love. When we have ego, we separate ourselves from others but gratitude unites us.
Conclusion; Ego is not worth holding on to. Gratitude overcomes ego bringing joy and happiness. Ego is not flexible; gratitude is the wonderful energy that takes care of us.
The best thing to do when you have ego .... Let go!
