We have thousands of opportunities every day to be grateful: for having good weather, to have slept well last night, to be able to get up, to be healthy, to have enough to eat. … There’s opportunity upon opportunity to be grateful; that’s what life is.
On The International Day for the End of Violence of Women, I share a grateful quote from Maya Angelou who experienced violence against her from an early age from the men in her life, and who found her voice and overcame those experiences. Her story can be found in the book, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.
When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed.
A daisy in the midst of cone flowers is unexpected. That practicing the expression of gratitude, even in the difficult time, would bring more joy into our lives is counter intuitive, and also unexpected. When we express gratitude and forgiveness, as the Amish did in Pennsylvania following the horrible school shooting, it is beyond unexpected. It is pure grace and wonder.
Let us be unexpected witnesses of the graciousness of God, and live as a grateful and forgiving people.
There’s a self expansive aspect of gratitude. Very possibly it’s a little known law of nature: the more gratitude you have, the more you have to be grateful for.
Gratitude is the intention to count-your-blessings every day, every minute, while avoiding, whenever possible, the belief that you need or deserve different circumstances.
– Timothy Miller in How To Want What You Have
What are the blessings of this day – of this moment?
The day I acquired the habit of consciously pronouncing the words “thank you”, I felt I had gained possession of a magic wand capable of transforming everything.
There are many things to be grateful “for” but, as I ripen with the seasons of life, the many reasons blend into a sacred mystery. And, most deeply, I realize that living gratefully is its own blessing.
– Michael Mahoney
May my life and the fruit of my life ripen graciously through gratitude
Gratitude is the most passionate transformative force in the cosmos. When we offer thanks to God or to another human being, gratitude gifts us with renewal, reflection, reconnection.
– Sarah Ban Breathnach
The transformative process that is Autumn reminds us to be grateful
