They live alone.

Martin, his two sisters and his little cousin in their home in Quito, Ecuador.

They are fully dependent on their sponsors from Compassion International to feed, clothe and help nurture them.

They have nothing except two beds and a table. And, they have a syndrome rare to most Americans, something I could tell from the moment I entered their little home. It was obvious. I’ve experienced bouts of this syndrome during my life but, now, I have a full blown case. I pray I am infected, contagious and will never recover.

They have the syndrome of gratefulness.

I want to be chronically grateful, don’t you?

I learned many years ago, when I first became blind, that gratefulness was my best ally. It guided me through the maze of confusion and free me from the shackles of bitterness. My friend, it truly has.

Sometimes, I still go through periods of ungratefulness. I get small-minded, short-sighted and sink to a degree of selfishness that makes everything in my soul seem dark. But, grateful eyes truly do see grace and goodness, even in the most difficult and unattractive packages.

Martin’s situation is an unattractive package, a difficult gift to be grateful for but regardless, he was. His sisters were too. The simplicity of that wise choice made me want to stop swimming in the shallow end of my life and dive into the deep. The deep end is where gratitude cleanses me of myself.

Don’t you want to be infected too?

The Gratitude Syndrome makes you desire what you already have rather than always needing to have what you think you desire. Gratitude makes life’s horizon bright and big rather than dark and distant. It turns what you have into more than enough. It turns resentment into acceptance and turmoil into order. True gratefulness makes a meager meal a feast, a one room dwelling into a home and an American stranger into a friend for life . . . Gratitude makes sense of little Martin’s past, brings him peace for today and gives him a hopeful vision for tomorrow.

And, it makes this blind woman see how very much she has.

Both ancient and modern philosophers knew the value of becoming infected with gratitude. From the Roman philosopher Cicero, who said gratitude is “not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others,” to David Steindl-Rast, a Benedictine monk, who summed it up by writing, “The root of joy is gratefulness … It is not joy that makes us grateful; it is gratitude that makes us joyful.”

So, I’m happy to be infected! Let’s be carriers of the gratitude syndrome … it is the infection that keeps our souls well.

Question: What’s one thing you are grateful for today? Why? Leave a comment here.