The simple secret to a fulfilling life
10 useful insights on the redemptive power of gratitude
We all have those days when we greet a new day with a cranky spirit. Those days when, as soon as sunlight hits our eyelids, our heads go on worried, anxious overdrive, remembering everything we didn’t finish yesterday and the painful nightmares we left the night before. Deadlines, social obligations, chores, heartbreak, loneliness, a strained friendship, an embarassing failure.
Screw all those who say life is a gift. Nope, on these painful mornings, life is definitely a curse. More rocky path than soft sand. And such mornings are as old as life itself. Check out any history book or wikipedia biography.
Then again…
This initial downward pull can be reversed.
One glorious feature of the human psyche is an inner switch that softens life’s bitter and dark with some subtle inner light. It’s the switch of gratitude. It takes some practice to know how to turn it on but once you get the hang of it, it’s pretty reliable. With gratitude, hard days can be faced with courage, because pain becomes a step to something better, bigger. With gratitude’s light, we learn to see struggle, weakness, and suffering as opportunities instead of fixed, unsurmountable hurdles.
Just as pain has been around for millennia, so has gratitude’s transformative power. To encourage this dark-day-changing habit, below are 10 insights from thinkers and authors, from as far back as the Roman empire:
1. For days you feel dispersed and directionless
“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.”
― Marcus Tullius Cicero (Roman politician and Lawyer, 63 B.C.)
2. For days you feel alone and unloved
“To be grateful is to recognize the Love of God in everything He has given us — and He has given us everything. Every breath we draw is a gift of His love, every moment of existence is a grace, for it brings with it immense graces from Him. Gratitude therefore takes nothing for granted, is never unresponsive, is constantly awakening to new wonder and to praise of the goodness of God. For the grateful person knows that God is good, not by hearsay but by experience. And that is what makes all the difference.”
― Thomas Merton (trappist monk, b. 1915–d. 1968)
3. For days when everyone is conspiring against you (or at least that’s what it seems like)
“Everyone enjoys being acknowledged and appreciated. Sometimes even the simplest act of gratitude can change someone’s entire day. Take the time to recognize and value the people around you and appreciate those who make a difference in your lives.”
― Roy T. Bennett (inspirational author)
4. When life is going too fast
“The miracle is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on the green earth, dwelling deeply in the present moment and feeling truly alive.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh (buddhist monk, b. 1926)
5. When fears overwhelm
“When you are grateful, fear disappears and abundance appears.”
― Anthony Robbins (author, entrepreneur, philanthropist, life coach)
6. When it’s all just empty routine
“In ordinary life we hardly realize that we receive a great deal more than we give, and that it is only with gratitude that life becomes rich.”
― Dietrich Bonhoeffer (German pastor and theologian b. 1906 — d.1945)
7. When something bad happens and you don’t have much choice
“I have learned that in every circumstance that comes my way, I can choose to respond in one of two ways: I can whine or I can worship! And I can’t worship without giving thanks. It just isn’t possible. When we choose the pathway of worship and giving thanks, especially in the midst of difficult circumstances, there is a fragrance, a radiance, that issues forth out of our lives to bless the Lord and others.”
― Nancy Leigh DeMoss, Choosing Gratitude: Your Journey to Joy (Christian radio host and author, b. 1958)
8. For faux pas and accidents
“Every once in a while God allows you to stub your toe as a kind reminder to be grateful for the miraculous body attached to it.”
― Richelle E. Goodrich, Smile Anyway (author)
9. When life seems hopeless
“Eucharisteo — thanksgiving — always precedes the miracle.”
― Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are (author, b. 1973)
10. When a problem seems too big, and you’re not sure how to start solving it
“An attitude of gratitude brings great things.”
― Yogi Bhajan (Indian spiritual teacher, b. 1929 — d. 2004)
Thank you for reading!
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