Thoughts on Gratitude

Some of the qualities of people who are grateful:

• They have lower levels of stress and depression
• They have a greater capacity for empathy
• People see them as more generous and more helpful than others
• They have a tendency to see the interconnectedness of all life
• They have a responsibility and commitment to others
• They place less importance on material goods, theirs and others
• They are less likely to judge others based on materialism
• They are more likely to share what they have with others who don’t have as much
• They are more satisfied with life and have more vitality and optimism
• They have higher levels of positive emotion

“Practicing gratitude helps people extract the most out of life. People can also experience an overall shift to a more benevolent view of the world. I think it’s kind of a spiritual shift for some people because it makes them more aware of life as a gift.”

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, and confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.”