Ponderings (November 2008) - “GRATITUDE”
According to Merriam-Webster's Dictionary …
Gratitude is “the state of being grateful; thankfulness; appreciation of benefits received“
Sharing my thoughts …
Thanksgiving has come and gone and what a nice holiday is has been; a celebration spent with family, friends, and delicious food. Thanksgiving is a day to count our blessings and express our gratitude. Wouldn’t it be great if we held this state of thankfulness all throughout the year? And if we did, how would it change our lives? Imagine what it would be like to keep a daily gratitude journal to reflect on our experiences, both good and bad, and to find the gift in each situation with an attitude of gratitude. Not a bad idea!
Questions to ponder …
- What 5 successes in your life are you most grateful for and why?
- What 5 challenges in your life are you most grateful for and why?
- How do your actions support or contradict your words of gratitude?
- How do you feel when you express genuine gratitude towards another?
- How do you feel when someone expresses genuine gratitude towards you?
- How do others respond when you express genuine gratitude towards them?
- What are you grateful for regarding the current national economic uncertainty?
- For the next week apply an attitude of gratitude to your challenges. What do you observe?
Related quotes …
Thanksgiving was never meant to be shut up in a single day. [Robert C Linter]
Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it. [William Arthur Ward]
As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. [John F Kennedy]
Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity.... It turns problems into gifts, failures into success, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into important events. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow. [Melodie Beattie]
