Seven Principles for Cultivating Gratitude
By Gregg Krech
- Gratitude is independent of one's objective life circumstances;
- Gratitude is a function of attention;
- Entitlement makes gratitude impossible;
- When we continue to receive something on a regular basis, we typically begin to take it for granted;
- Our deepest sense of gratitude comes through grace -- the awareness that we have not earned, nor do we deserve what we have been given;
- Gratitude can be cultivated through sincere self-reflection; and
- The expression of gratitude (through words and deeds) has the affect of heightening our personal experience of gratitude.
Expressing Gratitude is Transformative
“
Expressing gratitude is transformative, just as transformative as
expressing complaint.
Imagine an experiment involving two people. One
is asked to spend ten minutes each morning and evening expressing
gratitude (there is always something to be grateful for), while the
other is asked to spend the same amount of time practicing complaining
(there is, after all, always something to complain about).
One of the
subjects is saying things like, "I hate my job. I can't stand this
apartment. Why can't I make enough money? My spouse doesn't get along
with me. That dog next door never stops barking and I just can't stand
this neighborhood."
The other is saying things like, "I'm really
grateful for the opportunity to work; there are so many people these
days who can't even find a job. And I'm sure grateful for my health.
What a gorgeous day; I really like this fall breeze." They do this
experiment for a year.
Guaranteed, at the end of that year the person
practicing complaining will have deeply reaffirmed all his negative
"stuff" rather than having let it go, while the one practicing
gratitude will be a very grateful person. . . Expressing gratitude can,
indeed, change our way of seeing ourselves and the world."
-Roshi John Daido Loori
“We pray for our daily bread; bread gives us the strength to do so. ”
- R.H. Blyth
“If the only prayer you say your entire life is 'thank you' that would suffice.”
- Meister Eckhart
"Can you see the holiness in those things you take for granted--a paved road or a washing machine?
If you concentrate on finding what is good in every situation, you will discover that your life will suddenly be filled with gratitude, a feeling that nurtures the soul."
- Rabbi Harold Kushner
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