We spoke yesterday about the fact that Hakarat HaTov/Gratitude is not for the recipient of the thank you, gratitude is for the giver of the thank you. When you show gratitude, you become a happier person. You become a more appreciating person. You'll go to the doctor less. It's for you . The proof is the famous thought that Moshe Rabbenu did not bring a plague upon the Nile River, and he did not bring a plague upon the sand, because they protected and helped him. These are inanimate objects. They have no feelings. Similarly, the Gemara says that if you drank from a pit, you shouldn't do anything negative to the pit. There are many stories about this, some to extreme levels. There’s a story of a great rabbi that was asked to make a judgment on a bathhouse. But there was a question of destroying the bathhouse, and this rabbi had gone to the bathhouse for many years. So he said, “ How can I be involved in a decision on destroying the bathhouse if I used it for many years? ” What does the bathhouse know? What does the bathhouse care? It’s not about that. It's about me and my training in Hakarat HaTov. So how does it work? The Kuzari, in Maamar 3, letter 17, says that when a person -prepares for a pleasure, -discerns the pleasure, and -thinks about would be if he didn’t have it (before he gets the pleasure), His pleasure is doubled. That's one of the benefits, he says, of making blessings before we eat. When we make blessings before we eat, we are contemplating and appreciating what it is to have, or not have, that item. Additonally, Berachot slow us down. When you sit down to eat a banana, what should you be thinking? First of all, you’re supposed to be thinking about, and discerning the banana. You’re supposed to pause and look at that banana and think about it. Don't just stuff it in, slowly prepare yourself for the pleasure of eating that banana, go through your Rabbi Miller exercises and then think, “ Imagine if I didn’t have a banana.” This is an important rule. Anytime you have something and you take it for granted, say to yourself, “ Imagine if I wouldn't have it.” Imagine if I wouldn't have it. It works for anybody or anything. If you have a personal relationship that you don't like, think about what would be if they wouldn't be here. How would life be then? If you imagine you didn't have it, and now you have it, you’ll really appreciate it. The next time you have a bottle of water, imagine that you’re thirsty and you don’t have it. Imagine that you’re breaking your fast after 24 hours. Of course you're going to be thrilled. But this isn’t just about pleasures. What about your existence? You are here. Don't take that for granted. Whenever we say Shehechiyanu V’Keyemanu, V’Higiyanu L’zman Hazeh, a year has gone by. On the night of the Seder, when we make Shehechiyanu , we are supposed to contemplate what it would be like not to be here. Not everybody's here. We have to look at life as a gift, as a merit, as a pleasure. A person should realize, he says, that by nature, not being here is more befitting than being here. That means if God doesn't positively will you to be here, you are not going to be here. By nature, we're dirt. By nature, nothing’s there. Every second, God is willing us to live. And every second deserves another Thank You. He says, if a person lives that way, what's the test? The test is what happens when you don't have something. What happens if, has v’shalom , you lose something. Do you say the famous line,“ God gave and God took?” He says that a person that lives his life like this, constantly imagining, “ I'm not deserving and now I'm getting a gift, ” is living a life of constant pleasure. And he says, if you didn't accept upon yourself this approach to life, the pleasures that you have are not human pleasures. They’re animalistic pleasures. An animal eats grass and we have our bowl of salad. Same thing. The animal is just eating the grass. He's not thinking about anything. And we could be doing the same. He compares this to the pleasure of a drunk. When someone is drunk, they don’t really enjoy life, they’re just going through the motions. A person can go through life as if he’s drunk , if he's not thinking about life, if he's just focusing what he doesn't have. That's the job of the holiday of Pesach- to really be thinking about everything. Bchol Dor V’Dor, Omdim Alenu L’chalotenu… We shouldn't be here. Our existence is a miracle. Thinking like that gives us a life of constant pleasure. It’s a job. It takes work. But, B’Ezrat Hashem, we will get there.