Good morning, Chaverim (friends),
Here are some words of wisdom from a gratitude “expert”, someone whose life’s work has been dedicated to the power of gratitude to transform lives.
Here is today’s Everyday Gratitude Quote in the Middle of a Pandemic:“As I express my gratitude, I become more deeply aware of it. And the greater my awareness, the greater my need to express it.”
Brother David Steindl-Rast
Q for Contemplation: What might happen if I express the gratitude I feel?
There is great power in speaking our gratitude out loud, both for us as we do it (we feel good) and for the people who are the recipients of our thanks (they feel good). In my work as an executive coach, I sometimes work with leaders who have forgotten about the importance of recognizing and thanking employees for their efforts. A sincere “thank you” for a job well done can make a huge difference in how people feel about themselves, their work and their own and its value. Over time this can help to build better relationships and improve overall performance in a workplace.
But, Brother David is describing a greater power here…the power of speaking gratitude out loud to deepen our awareness of the gratitude itself, to literally grow/expand/magnify the gratitude, and to generate a “need to express it”. That expression can take the form of prayer, an action you take to help another, a thank you note, an entry in a gratitude journal, the “thanks” you share out loud with another….you get the idea. If we let our gratitude flow, if we share it or act on it in some way, it GROWS, both for ourselves and for those we touch. Pretty powerful stuff…
Perhaps it might be a really good idea to take Brother David’s words to heart!?
Marci
