Gratefulness

The world is full of gratefulness practices and the desire to be grateful.  One of the Grandfathers of this movement is Br. David Stendahl-Rast who has created the website Gratefulness.org.  Here he is giving a TED talk about the power of gratefulness to make us happy.  As he says, “Happiness does not make us grateful, gratefulness makes us happy.” Sometimes that feels so simplistic to me – perhaps because it is!  But I so appreciated this 15 minute TED talk reminding  me of the importance of remaining grateful for every moment.

Click HERE to watch Br. David Stendahl-Rasts TED talk on Gratefulness.

And a poem for you on the same topic.  A sort of back door into praise!

Praise the dust under the bed

Praise the dust under the bed and how the one edge of the rug curls up.

Praise the dirty counter and dishes piled in the sink.

Praise your scratchy throat and the worry that you may have Covid.

Praise your one crooked tooth, how it stands out in every photo.

Praise the warts that seem to be growing out of nowhere.

Praise even the long line of readers that also have placed “holds” on the book you want.

Praise waiting – in all its forms.

Praise impatience that pops out when you don’t mean it to.

It’s all just good practice – in case some day we need to be grateful…

just because.

~Penny Hackett-Evans