Essays on Gratitude

Jean François Millet (1814-1875)
L' Angélus (1859)
Essays on Gratitude
Edited by Peter Y. Chou
WisdomPortal.com

Practicing Gratitude
By David Steindl-Rast, O.S.B. (Sacred Journey, October 2001)
"Gratefulness makes us aware of the gift and makes us happy. As long
as we take things for granted they don't make us happy. Gratefulness is
the key to happiness. Practicing gratitude is so central to my spirituality."

A NEW REASON FOR GRATITUDE
By David Steindl-Rast, O.S.B. (September 2001)
"Who would have foreseen that gratitude could shine forth
with such new brightness in these dark days? May it light our way."

Desiderata (1927) by Max Ehrmann (1872-1945)
Not "Found in Old St. Paul's Church in 1692"
"And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul."

The Confused History of "Desiderata"
Fleur-de-lis Designs Favorite Quotations
(Is Desiderata in the Public Domain or Copyrighted?)

A Prayer— By Max Ehrmann (1872-1945)
"teach me still to be thankful for life, and for time's olden memories
that are good and sweet; and may the evening's twilight find me gentle still."

First Thanksgiving Day Proclamation
By Abraham Lincoln (Washington D.C., October 3, 1863)
"fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds
of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine
purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and Union."

8 Ways to Live in Gratitude By Jane Bluestein, Ph.D. (1997)
from Parent's Little Book of Lists: Do's & Don'ts of Effective Parenting
"Be an example of happiness, abundance and appreciation...
Gratitude is a very personal experience. Watch the tendency
to tell others what they should feel grateful for."

An Attitude of Gratitude By Reverend Joan R. Gelbein
Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington (Nov. 22, 1998)
There are times when we feel the great need to say thank you, and there's no one
or nothing to say it to... A particularly profound moment in which you may feel
the surge of gratitude for being alive— right here, right now.

That's Gratitude for Ya! A Thankgiving Sermon
Reverend Brian J. Kiely, Unitarian Church of Edmonton (Oct. 9, 2005)
"We live in a society that has largely forgotten how good it can be
to feel grateful. A farm family a hundred years ago may or may not have
believed in God, but they sure knew what it was to be grateful for the harvest."

How Kids Learn Gratitude
By Jean G. Fitzpatrick, Beliefnet.com
"Give thanks in prayer. Say thank you
to your family. Slow down and smell the roses."

ESSAY: "Inadequate Gratitude and Imperfect Sorrow"
By Andrew Hudgins, Professor, Ohio State University
PBS: Religion & Ethics Online (June 25, 2004)
"I live with a sense of sorrow and inadequate gratitude that slips in and out of
focus as I read the news one day and the next day skip it because I'm late for work.

Gratitude (written for a Gratitude essay competition)
By Christine M. Buss, Naperville, IL
"when you're awake to the smells, the touches, the current moment, gratitude
happens by itself. It's the rushing by that leaves us without gratitude...
So attend, please. This second. Be here. Gratitude cannot help but follow."

Pain and Gratitude (2005)
By Shany Kukawka (Newsweek Winning "My Turn" Essay)
Smoky Hill High School, Aurora, Colorado
I cried, and I felt something break... and in flooded the pain. I cried, and
it was my soul that hurt. It hurt inside of me, a crushing sort of pain, and now
I know that I am strong— because I have a soul that is alive enough to bleed."