By Younas Chaudhary

Gratitude is an action and not a feeling. In this season of gratitude, I want to:

1. Thank all my coworkers and everyone who makes my life worthwhile: Every morning I owe gratitude to the workers at my home, all my office coworkers, all field operational coworkers who work around the clock to keep our oilfield operations ongoing, the maintenance workers, the security guards, and all other people in my life. I am grateful to my co-workers and countless others because their genuineness, friendliness and goodwill makes my day.
2. Thank caregivers who treat my wife with compassion: My wife has been suffering from Parkinson’s disease and dementia for the last eight years and the visiting doctor always says: “There are very few patients that I see who are being taken care of so well.” Yes, I am filled with gratitude for the caregivers who look after my wife as one of their own, day in and day out.
3. Thank my family, relatives, friends and followers on social media: They have always stood with me during good and bad times.
4. Thank the stranger who came into my life: He came into my life unexpectedly in the early 1980’s as I was struggling to find money for an oil and gas deal that I had to close. I had called all my contacts and even put an ad in the local papers looking for investors but there was no luck in sight. I was desperate as the deadline was looming and if I could not get the funds, I would lose my deposit and the opportunity to close the deal with an energy major. Fortunately, a day before the deadline, a total stranger, an old well-dressed gentleman called me first and then later in that morning walks into my office, says he wants to invest in the deal and expresses interest in giving me money. By late afternoon, he returns with a cashier’s check so I can close the deal. This kindness from a stranger saved the day and this became a turning point in my business life.
5. Thank Leo and the proud farmers of Kansas: Arriving in Chanute, Kansas in the late 1970’s, I looked exactly like an Iranian scouting for oil wells and oil leases in the middle of the Iranian hostage crisis! Yet, kind farmers led by Leo, an elderly gentleman lifted me up, provided their contacts, and gave me an entry into the oil and gas leasing business.
6. Thank the kindness of the poor: In life, I have learned to be grateful from people who owned nothing. The poor farmers living in remote villages of Pakistan and around the globe who filled their stomachs each day with just a pita (roti) bread and raw onion taught me humility, how to be content, and to stop complaining.
7. Thank nature for its healing power: Wyoming and Montana are two of the most beautiful places in America but, in the early days of my career, I would go there to scout for oil wells and miss their natural beauty. I was so focused on work in those days that I would ignore the beautiful wilderness and the birds and animals around me. Today, I go there, I pause, I enjoy, I thank nature and sometimes think of all that I missed in the haste to close a deal or make more money.

I am so grateful and thankful to the almighty God who has blessed me beyond belief. Always remember to show gratitude with humility to all the people and things around you. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Disclaimer

The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this article are my own and do not represent the opinions of any entity with which I have been, am now, or will be affiliated. Further, I make no warranty regarding the accuracy or effectiveness of my recommendations, and readers are advised to consult other advisors as well as their own judgments in making business decisions.

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