Giving Thanks: The Gifts of Gratitude
by MJ Ryan
Published by Conari Press
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Reviewed by Connie Anderson
“When we focus on abundance, our life feels abundant. When we focus on lack, our life feels lacking. It is purely a matter of focus.” – Susan Jeffers
If you keep the attitude of gratitude every day, soon you will not have to even think about it. We can’t wait until everything is perfect, or even okay, in order to feel thankful—we need to be grateful—in spite of (whatever). It’s hard to appreciate the ordinary—except when you compare it to something hard or challenging or sad or bad. It’s a matter of where you put your attention.
We’ve all done it–realized how lucky we are (gratitude) when we hear about something bad happening to others. Then we know we are having a good day. In Minnesota’s recent major bridge collapse, we heard many stories about grateful people who had just passed over the bridge, or had been delayed–and were unharmed.
Why do some of us need to almost die to experience the joy available in this moment?
Positive emotions such as gratitude and love strengthen and enhance the immune system, helping you resist or recover from illness more quickly. Doesn’t that sound good?
This book is full of all kinds of wonderful statements/reminders. Here are some special ones I pulled from the book:
− Gratitude begets generosity, which begets gratitude, which begets generosity.
− Train yourself to count your blessing (big and small, important and insignificant).
− Embrace the good, despite the suffering.
− In some ways, our attitude determines everything—how we see the world.
− Consumerism is fueled by our sense of never being satisfied.
− You cannot be grateful and unhappy at the same time.
− Worry is always about the future (the might or might not happen); gratitude is the here and now.
− You will be worn out trying to be perfect.
− Be open to the fullness of gratitude, the past and future fade away.
MJ Ryan is one of the creators of the NY Times bestselling Random Acts of Kindness series, as well as other books, including Acts of Gratitude. The words are superb, and some of the photos are stunning and fit the “a picture is worth a thousand words.”
Armchair Interviews says: This is a wonderful gift book, for yourself or for those you care about. Every page reminds us of reasons we have right now for having the attitude of gratitude.