“Cultivate an attitude of gratitude” is one of the slogans that people in 12 step recovery programs use. For someone recovering from alcohol or drug addiction, being grateful can be a life or death choice. That is, for an addict to wallow in ingratitude or resentment can lead to a relapse, which can lead to death. Of course gratitude is a good attitude for everyone to have when possible, as it opens us to far more than sobriety. An attitude of gratitude brings us joy, peace, and better relationships. Most basically, gratitude puts us more in touch with reality. The reality that one’s very life is a gift from God. This basic gratitude to God for life fosters within us gratitude for all of God’s blessings and is contagious, inspiring gratitude in others.
It’s not easy to maintain an attitude of gratitude in the face of the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune that we all sometimes experience. But the sooner we are able to get back to gratitude after suffering, the happier we will be. And gratitude can help us put suffering in perspective and get through it quicker. The more consistently we are in that place of gratitude because of God’s many blessings and in spite of suffering, the more successful we are at life.
I’ve often spoken about the importance of gratitude in this column. For example, I’ve highlighted this scripture: Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, James 1:17. Meister Eckhart said, “If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is ‘thank you,’ it will be enough.” So God is the source of our lives and every blessing. If we simply say thank you to God and maintain that attitude (with God’s help, which we are also grateful for), then we’ve done most of our work! We’ll then be energized, see things as they really are, and respond to God, people, and events with gratitude and love.
As we grow in gratitude, our awareness of how others bless us also increases. We have much to be grateful for.
In peace, John+