Gratitude goes beyond the 'mine' and 'thine' and claims the truth that all of life is gift. In the past I always thought of gratitude as a spontaneous response to the awareness of gifts received, but now I realize that gratitude can also be lived as a discipline.
Gratitude as a discipline involves a choice. I can choose to be grateful even when my emotions and feelings are still steeped in hurt and resentment. It is amazing how many occasions present themselves in which I can choose gratitude instead of a complaint…
The choice for gratitude rarely comes without effort. But each time I make it, the next choice is a little easier, a little freer...There is an Estonian proverb that says: "Who does not thank for little will not thank for much." Acts of gratitude make one grateful because, step by step, they reveal that all is grace.
Henri Nouwen
Gratitude as a discipline involves a choice. I can choose to be grateful even when my emotions and feelings are still steeped in hurt and resentment. It is amazing how many occasions present themselves in which I can choose gratitude instead of a complaint…
The choice for gratitude rarely comes without effort. But each time I make it, the next choice is a little easier, a little freer...There is an Estonian proverb that says: "Who does not thank for little will not thank for much." Acts of gratitude make one grateful because, step by step, they reveal that all is grace.
Henri Nouwen
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