The Grace of Gratitude

Gratitude is a beautiful virtue that is always welcome.

Making the World Better

Ahhhh... Gratitude just makes the world better. When you hear or say the words "thank you", your heart is happier. Your perspective is broadened and clarified. The world feels and sounds better.

We can go from noticing everything we wish we had or know that we could have to seeing what we do have, enabling ourselves to enjoy it. Once we naturally feel that way inwardly, we can and should express that outwardly.

Gratitude Smooths Over

We live in a world that's not perfect -- people, places, circumstances could all be better. We are not perfect. Gratitude can help smooth a lot of that over. Life doesn't always go as planned, but we can be grateful for the ups between the downs. As we become more practiced in our gratitude, we can see downs as ups through the perspective and acts of gratitude.

Such Abundance

We live in a world of abundance. Abundance is not distributed equally. No one has it all, but we all have something. Everyone has something to say thank you for. We enjoy and are privy to so much. That is wonderful and nothing to be ashamed of. But we might just feel proper shame if one day we realize we've been enjoying, perhaps expecting, a lot without being as grateful as we know we should be.

Let's say thank you more. Let's be more gracious.

How do you find that a perspective of gratitude makes you and others feel?