An Attitude of Gratitude

Give us thankful hearts...
in this season of Thy Thanksgiving.
May we be thankful for health and strength,
for sun and rain and peace.
Let us seize the day and the opportunity
and strive for that greatness of spirit
that measures life not by its disappointments
but by its possibilities,
and let us ever remember
that true gratitude and appreciation
shows itself neither in independence nor satisfaction
but passes the gift joyfully on
in larger and better form...
—W.E.B. Dubois


For Thanksgiving this year, we remember, as Dubois suggests, that gratitude is in itself a practice. The expression that "true gratitude and appreciation... passes the gift joyfully on in larger and better form" suggests that we should not think of gratitude as a passive experience but as something we do, thanksgiving that we reflect back to the world through our actions and gifts. A recent New York Times article reports scientific findings that "an 'attitude of gratitude' has been linked to better health, sounder sleep... greater satisfaction with life and kinder behavior toward others." There's a reason for that—joy begets joy.

--Taken from this week's Alliance of Baptists E-Newsletter