Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Just Give it Away

“You have turned my mourning into dancing; you have taken off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, so that my soul may praise you and not be silent.  O LORD my God, I will give thanks to you forever.”  Psalm 30:11–12

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.  It turns what we have into enough, and more.  It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity.  It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.  Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.
Melody Beattie


“Gratefulness is the key to a happy life that we hold in our hands, because if we are not grateful, then no matter how much we have we will not be happy — because we will always want to have something else or something more. Gratefulness makes us aware of the gift and makes us happy. As long as we take things for granted they don’t make us happy. Gratefulness is the key to happiness. Practicing gratitude is so central to my spirituality.” — David Steindl-Rast, Sacred Journey (October 2001)

Give it away without a thought of being repaid, be grateful that you had it to give. Not necessarily wealth or money, perhaps a smile to a stressed retail clerk, assistance to a burdened shopper without enough hands or a word of encouragement to your son with the failing grade.  We have more than we realize sometimes so why not give some of it away.

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