I received numerous positive comments from my first posting on Gratitude. I hope this new posting will again touched your heart. I like to hear from you! 
This posting is inspired from my recent readings of an article by William Brooks published on the Epoch Times issue dated 11-25-12-3, 2025. The title of the article: Two Choices for Humanity, One Embraces Gratitude, the Other Resentment.
Gratitude and Resentment: Two Mirrors of a Long Life
At 91 years old, I’ve learned that gratitude and resentment are not opposites. They are twins, born from the same moments, shaped by the same memories, competing quietly for space in the same heart. Over the decades, I’ve felt both. Sometimes in waves. Sometimes in whispers. But always as companions that remind me I am still very much alive.
When I look back over my life from my more than 12 years with the FDA, to my unexpected role in the aftermath of 9/11, to the thousands of blog entries I’ve written since 2009, gratitude is the thread that helps me see everything clearly. Resentment, however, is the grain of sand that occasionally irritates the soul enough to make me reflect more honestly.
The Temptation of Resentment:
Resentment creeps in quietly. Sometimes it comes from a passing comment, like a fellow senior resident once telling me that I “can’t really call myself an American” because I arrived here through naturalization. A remark like that stings, even after more than half a century as a citizen. Resentment when at one time in my early career in private industry, I was by-passed for a promotion, because I am not fully White and because I am a Pinoy. However, I learned to be patient and the incident inspired me to work harder.
Other times resentment bubbles up in quieter moments around aging, around illness, around the things life takes from us one small piece at a time. Resentment whispers about the unfairness of kidney disease, or the physical limitations ( chronic leg pain) it imposes on my days here at THD, where the young staff serve with energy I once had.
But here is the truth I’ve learned: resentment is real, but it is not the whole story. It is only the half of the story that appears when one forgets to turn on the light.
Gratitude as a Daily Lantern
Even now, perhaps especially now, gratitude has a way of even making my day brighter.
I feel it during the weekly massages I’ve received for nearly two years, moments when human touch reminds me that care still surrounds me. I feel it when I watch my two new great-grandchildren, small signs that the world will continue long after I am gone.
I feel it when I walk through the community gardens here and exchange greetings, and tiny slices of life with fellow residents who, like me, are trying to live fully in the time we have left. I feel it every time I play Bridge and Mahjong, Win or Lose!
And I feel it every time I sit down to write another blog, still surprised that after thousands of entries, I’m never quite out of things to say.
Gratitude doesn’t erase hardship. It simply gives us a second vantage point from which to view the same reality.
A Life Balanced Between Two Forces
If resentment is the weight that pulls us down, gratitude is the wind that lifts us back up.
If resentment narrows the world, gratitude widens it. If resentment clings to what was lost, gratitude celebrates what remains.
At 91, I’ve accepted that both will visit me from time to time. What matters is who I allow to stay longer.
When gratitude stays, my memories sharpen, not with bitterness but with meaning. My years in government service feel purposeful. My experiences as an immigrant feel like triumphs. My family feels like an inheritance I never dared to imagine. And even the limitations of old age feel softened, not erased, but gentled by the people and the daily routines that sustain me now.
Choosing the Better Companion
Gratitude and resentment are both honest emotions, but only one helps us grow. Only one leaves us lighter. Only one allows us to tell our story with dignity, humor, and heart.
At this stage of life, I choose gratitude, not because it comes easily, but because it allows me to enjoy the days I have left with clarity, courage, and a certain quiet joy.
And perhaps that is the greatest gift of aging: The ability to look back on a long and complicated life and say, even with all its thorns: “Thank you.”
- Focuses on abundance: Gratitude acknowledges that blessings come from many sources, including others, circumstances, and grace.
- Builds connection: It fosters a sense of belonging and connectedness with others.
- Promotes well-being: Practicing gratitude is linked to increased happiness, optimism, and positive emotions, and can lead to better physical health, including improved sleep and lower blood pressure.
- Reduces future regret: Living gratefully is described as "regret prevention" because it encourages cherishing what one has now, reducing the likelihood of later wishing things had been different.
- Focuses on lack: Resentment centers on what is missing or what is felt to be owed but wasn't received.
- Causes isolation: It leads to turning inward and can result in isolation from others.
- Is a corrosive emotion: It is the opposite of gratitude and is often linked with bitterness, anger, and fear.
- Fosters blame: A sense of entitlement can lead to blaming others for failures.
- Opposite states: It is difficult to feel both gratitude and resentment at the same time because they are contradictory emotional states.
- Antidote to resentment: Gratitude can be used as a direct antidote to resentment, with practices like acknowledging a person's positive qualities helping to soften negative feelings.
- The choice of perspective: The metaphor of mirrors suggests that how one frames their life experiences through the lens of gratitude or resentment, creates the reality of that life.
- Here are some of my Favorite Quotes on Gratitude/Resentment
Meanwhile, here are five of the top news stories today (December 2, 2025):
Top 5 News of the Day
Reuters: A judge-led inquiry has been ordered in Hong Kong after a devastating fire killed at least 156 — the city’s deadliest in decades. Government oversight of building renovations is under review. Reuters
OECD: In a new economic outlook, the OECD finds global growth remains resilient despite tariffs — but warns that AI-driven investment booms could stress markets, and forecasts a modest slowdown in 2026. Reuters+1
**Amazon employees publicly warn that the company’s AI efforts “could do staggering damage to democracy, our jobs, and the earth,” raising concerns over AI governance, labor, and climate impact. Fortune
Kremlin / Russian Armed Forces: Russia claims it has fully captured the city of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine — a claim denied by Ukrainian forces — as diplomatic efforts continue to explore a peace deal. Reuters+2Al Jazeera+2
**Apple Music reveals its top global songs of 2025 — led by Rosé & Bruno Mars’s “Apt” and Kendrick Lamar & SZA’s “Luther” — highlighting major hits that resonated worldwide this year. Hollywood Reporter
- Finally, My Food For Thought For Today:
- https://www.facebook.com/reel/857119673493850
