“What a Wonderful World” – Louis Armstrong

 

I see trees of green,
red roses too.
I see them bloom,
for me and you.
And I think to myself,
what a wonderful world.

 

I see skies of blue,
and clouds of white.
The bright blessed day,
the dark sacred night.
And I think to myself,
what a wonderful world.

 

The colors of the rainbow,
so pretty in the sky.
Are also on the faces,
of people going by,
I see friends shaking hands.
Saying, “How do you do?”
They’re really saying,
“I love you”.

 

I hear babies cry,
I watch them grow,
they’ll learn much more,
than I’ll ever know.
And I think to myself,
What a wonderful world.

 

Yes, I think to myself,
what a wonderful world.

 

———————————————-

 

“We are the World, We Are the People and our lives consist of Choices and Priorities.” It is important that you have the Right Priorities in Life; it is imperative that you make the Right Choices – remember that your choices will not only affect you but many other people too. Choose to develop and maintain the Strength of Character that will automatically give you the courage to see your beliefs and convictions through. Never, ever forget it – the day that you choose to forget these inexorable truths will inevitably spell your doom.

 

Virtue and Vice are two sides of the same coin – for example, on the one hand, there is thankfulness and gratitude and on the on the other hand, there is thanklessness and ingratitude.

 

Gratitude is an attitude of being thankful and grateful for all that Life has to offer you. Ingratitude is an attitude of taking a lot of  seemingly small, unimportant things for granted; being selfish, callous, indifferent and ungrateful. Believe it or not, Life IS Beautiful and the World IS Wonderful provided you take the time to realize these facts. You can choose to be grateful and you can very well choose to make gratitude as one of your many priorities in Life – it all depends, at the end of the day, on what you choose to make as your choices and priorities in life – it’s as simple as that!

 

Since childhood, we’ve learned from our parents and teachers, “to mind our Ps and Qs.” The words – “Please” and “thank-you” form a vital part of politeness. Polite people, on the whole, tend to realize the significance of the usage of these tiny niceties in their daily lives – they realize that etiquette, good manners and a good breeding are of  immense importance in the greater scheme of things. These elements of etiquette ought NOT to be a lost art of some, unknown bygone era – the way they stand today.

 

Yet the majority of people in the world are likely to think otherwise and might think or/and say – “How preposterously idiotic such a notion is! What is the need to make such a lot of noise and hullabaloo about such inconsequential things? Whether or not you use the words “please and “thank-you,”  other people still understand what you mean, don’t they? For God’s sake,  you need to stop being so formal and old-fashioned! Nobody has either the time, energy or inclination for it!”

 

Think about it. I’ll tell you a few things that will make you change you mind.

 

You don’t need to live in the countryside or on a remote hill resort to appreciate the beauty of Nature and the goodness of Life itself.  The calming sight of lush, green meadows; large expanses of green fields – portraying every possible shade of green till as far as the eye can see; blossoming, sweet-scented flowers; fields upon fields of gold – the fields of barley and all other varieties of crops, fruits and vegetables; the tranquil sight and sound of a flowing, gurgling brook; clear, blue skies; white clouds; bright, sunny, happy days; the ‘dark, sacred night’ filled with the sounds of the chirping of crickets and the sounds of animals that emerge from their hidey-holes at night-time; the relief that a slight, cooling breeze brings to a hot, still day; the blessed downpour of rain that brings back life to parched, barren, drought-ridden lands and relief of rain from stifling, hot, sultry days; the first sight of snow that brings with it memories of the wonderful festivities of Christmas and the hope for the dawn of a better New Year and hence a Better Tomorrow; the first whiff of a gentle wind that brings with it the  pleasant chill and gradual cold of winter after many days of boiling summer heat and sun; birds that twitter and sing in the lush, green trees of gardens, woods and forests and even the trilling of birds in trees that line the streets of bustling cities; the sight of rare, spectacularly beautiful butterflies, insects that settle for a short rest on neighboring flowering plants; the sight of rare birds that wing their way through the vast, open expanse of the skies; seeing and hearing the calming waves lapping against the sea-shore; the fact of being able to wake up each morning to bright sunshine streaming in with it, the goodness and warmth of the sun’s rays through your bedroom window – don’t these things mean anything at all to you? Don’t you care at all? When will you learn to be grateful? When will you learn to care?

 

Think about it. I’ll tell you more to make you change your mind.

The fact that you have more than just a simple roof over your head; the fact that you have made a livable, beautiful home out of a dwelling that was initially only a house, of not much consequence; the fact that you have clean water to drink and the luxuries of natural juices, beer, wine, scotch whisky and other alcoholic beverages; the fact that you have the privacy that a bathroom and toilet give you, instead of having to bathe and undertake your toilet activities and ablutions in open view of the staring and ogling public; the fact that you sleep on the comfort of a mattress on a solid, wooden bed – your head resting on a soft, silken pillow; the fact that you know that you will not go to sleep hungry – that you are assured of your next, wholesome square meal;  the fact that you can wake up each morning knowing that a cup of hot tea, warm coffee, a cereal, golden toasted bread,  fluffy scrambled eggs, ham/bacon and cheese await you, especially on a Sunday morning to refresh you from a good night’s deep sleep and revive you like nothing else can; the fact that you live in the very lap of luxury itself with every imaginable manner of comfort available to humankind; the fact that you have a steady and regular income from a stable and prestigious job; the fact that you can think often of entertaining yourself and your family by watching a movie on your top-of-the-line home-theater system, either at home or enjoy the same on a wide cinema screen, coupled with mind-blowing visual and sound effects; the fact that you can afford to take a taxi when no means of public transport is available; the fact that you can afford to eat every second day in an expensive restaurant or in a five/seven-star hotel; the fact that you have the monetary means and the opportunities to travel the world in the utmost style and comfort; the fact that you are well-educated and well-established financially in life; the fact that you can educate your children from the best educational institutes present in the country and later are assured of sending them abroad for higher studies and post-graduation; the fact that you can leave, of your own free will, a country that is war-torn with daily strife, all manner of  heinous crimes, strikes, indiscriminate shooting and killing of  an untold number of innocent civilians and children – the fact that you know that you can settle down, without too much ado, in countries of the Western World for a better future and better prospects in life; the fact that you are an eminent doctor or surgeon, of high repute, who has the capacity to touch the lives of tens of thousands of people with their healing hands and make them healthy and happy once again; the fact that you are blessed to be an excellent, reputed teacher and have the patience and rare gift of being able to impart your knowledge to tens of thousands of students and professionals in the field; the fact that you have a loving family and caring friends who never fail to remember you on good or bad days; the fact that your family and friends will unfailingly be by your side, holding your hand, when you most need their love, kindness and support – doesn’t ALL this AND MORE matter to you at all? Don’t you care enough to be thankful for all that Life has to offer you? When will you learn to be grateful – if at all?

 

Think about it. I’m quite sure that what follows will make you quickly change your mind.

 

The most important of all – the fact that you have the immense gift of sight from a pair of beautiful, mesmerizing eyes; the fact that you have the unparalleled gift of hearing and  the ability of clear, articulate speech; the fact that you can smell, taste, touch and feel and are not partially or totally paralyzed, from your face downwards till the toes of your feet; the fact that you are independent and intelligent enough to cope with all the trials of day-to-day existence; the fact that you have clean, “summery” &/or warm clothing to clad and protect you from the intense heat and/or intense cold; the fact that the soles of your feet are not bare, rough and dirty with deep, painful cuts – bare feet that are not festering and bleeding because you can afford to use fancy and expensive footwear of your own choice; the fact that the palms of your hands are smooth and clean and not rough, calloused and worn out by hard, manual labor; the fact that you can walk, run, jog and move your limbs at will; the fact that you feel safe and protected in the environment that you live in – THESE AND SO MUCH MORE matter so much at the end of the day, don’t you thinks so? When will you learn to be polite and grateful? Is it so difficult? Do you honestly think that all the basic necessities, niceties, goodness and luxuries of life are all due to you – as being part of your rights? Do you honestly believe that they form part of your birthright and are inevitably yours for the taking because they are destined and were always meant to be? When will you realize that you’ve been blessed with so much by a Benevolent, Generous God? When will you learn to look beyond the end of your nose and recognize the fact that there is life and a world beyond what you need and want? Don’t you care at all?

 

Believe me, you’d start caring the very minute ANY or ALL of these things were summarily taken away from you. Don’t you think that it might be too late to start caring at that time – when life has robbed you of all the caring people and all the seemingly inconsequential things that you took so much for granted – when you accepted them all thoughtlessly, as if they were a given fact?

 

Think about it. If you are still not convinced, let me tell you, still more, to make you change your mind.

 

If you have people who YOU LOVE and WHO LOVE YOU unconditionally and unstintingly, in their turn – people who never fail to care for you, your health, your safety and your well-being; people who are not afraid or embarrassed to say, “I love you – you are so special to me,” “I care for you,” “I am thinking of you” when no one else bothers to do so; the fact that you have someone who tells you, “I’m so sorry, I’ll make amends for the wrong that I’ve done you,” if the wronged person says that “I forgive you and will continue forgiving you despite the fact that I’ve dearly wanted to slap you,” the fact that someone cares for you, thinks of you and misses your presence when no one else does; the fact that you have the Infinite Gifts of Good Health, Joy, Peace of Mind, Wealth, Prosperity, Success and at times even the fact that you enjoy Fame; the fact that you can love others and be loved yourself – don’t all these seemingly small, inconsequential things matter in the larger scheme of Life? They matter so, so much – yet the majority of the people of the world just choose to be selfish, indifferent, callous and ungrateful! When will you learn to care about the people who care for you and when will you start caring about all the things that matter so much? WHEN YOU’VE LOST ANY OR ALL OF WHAT YOU’VE BEEN SO GENEROUSLY GIFTED WITH – THAT’S WHEN YOU’LL REALIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF CARING AND GIVING. It might turn out to be too late to do so then – don’t forget that either!

 

Think about it. I can still tell you some more things that will make you change your mind – but I won’t say anymore today. Maybe I will some other day…..let’s see. You can start by being caring, polite to other people and by learning to be appreciative of all the many gifts that Life has given you till date.

 

“There is no such thing as gratitude unexpressed. If it is unexpressed, it is plain, old-fashioned ingratitude.”

– Robert Brault

 

What is there left for me to say? Nothing much, for the moment – except to mention once again the following words of unparalleled wisdom and Truth.

 

“We are the World, We Are the People and our lives consist of Choices and Priorities.” Have the Right Priorities in Life; make the Right Choices – remember that your choices will not only affect you but many other people too. Develop and maintain a Benevolent Personality and the Strength of Character that will automatically give you the immense courage to see your beliefs and convictions through. Never, ever forget this – the day that you choose to forget these inexorable, unchanging truths will inevitably spell your doom and that’s the Truth of the matter too!

 

Related articles

• What a Wonderful World? (labeldaddy.com)
• What a Wonderful World (ukesongs.wordpress.com)
• The Art of Asking: asking in a way that creates a wonderful world (maziqbal.net)
• What a wonderful world (english.pravda.ru)
• What a wonderful world… (ramblingsbymario.wordpress.com)
• Somewhere Over the Rainbow (catquang.wordpress.com)
• Seven Wonders of the World (halcyonsoulcenter.wordpress.com)