Introduction (excerpt):
Not your typical book about gratitude. This book is for the
cynic, the hopeless, the happy and the already grateful. I
have been each of these.
When I started this book it was at a time when I had lost my
passion for life. Several events in my life had left me
feeling gutted. I could express gratitude to a person for a
kindness, I could express gratitude for certain events that
showed up; however, deep inside, I did not feel grateful to
be alive another day. I was functioning, and some people
had no clue of the turmoil inside. I sought answers. I
wanted stories of how genuine gratitude fuels a
passion for life.
I sought out selected people to explain genuine gratitude. I
was amazed in both sides of the equation. Some people simply
sent me a list of quotes they found on the internet. That
was the extent of their ability to explain Gratitude. Others
gave me their gratitude lists, but still couldn’t explain
the passion. Some gave me platitudes. For someone
experiencing difficulties in life, platitudes were not fuel
enough. I continued my search.
I questioned hundreds of people, even strangers, about their
genuine feelings of Gratitude and what was the difference
between writing a laundry list and feeling the depth of
passion of genuine gratitude. It was an eye opening
experience for each of us in a different way.
Some people even admitted to faking gratitude.
The message in this book invites you on a self discovery
journey sometimes through other perspectives and opinions.
It some areas it pushes the envelope. Isn't that how we
learn? When we venture outside our comfort zone we learn the
most about ourselves and our lives. Question this books
message as you question your current opinions and premature
cognitive commitments.
"This is what learning is. You suddenly
understand something you've understood all your life, but in a new way."
~ Doris Lessing ~
For those that questioned their opinions, I witnessed one of
two things, either they were unsure of their commitment or
they were even more deeply assured of their commitment.
(Cont...)
Gratitude Polls (excerpt)
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What stimulates more gratitude
from you?
A feeling about
something
40%
.
An
experience
40%
A Person
12%
A result wished for
8%
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In a 1998
Gallup poll, 54% of Americans said they express
gratitude to God, and 67% said they express gratitude to
other people "all the time."
Who is
right?
All of them.
Each person
is entitled to their own opinion, perception and choice
of expression.
I believe
that it’s not what happens to or for you that makes you
grateful; it’s how you respond to what is happening that
shows your genuine belief about gratitude.
What was
repeated throughout my research was that passionately
genuine gratitude is only possible when you understand
your own motivations and what is important to you.
Having the choice on how to express your gratitude is
powerful. The choice to make your own decisions on
what and why you feel gratitude – or ....
MOM
(excerpt)
“You can
tell a person,
not by what they say they are gratitude for,
but how they respect what they claim to be grateful for.”
~ My Mom, Mrs. Donna Priscott~
Original Quote
Contributed by Veronica Davina
My mother was of
my greatest examples on how to live life with honesty and
integrity. This quote was one of her favorite sayings. Long
after her passing, I remember every time she said it to me.
She wanted me to learn that people don’t just see what I
say, they learn who I am by how my actions match my words.
If I expressed gratitude for something then I needed to show
respect for it and protect it just as I would anything else
that was important to me. My parents were married for over
50 years. My Mom said a gratitude prayer every day for her
marriage and relationship with my Dad. Every day she worked
to make sure he knew how much she meant that. She never
looked at another man and she always made sure our home was
a happy place for Dad to come home to after a long day at
work. She was grateful for her two kids, and she spent time
teaching us how to be our best, learn our best and present
our best.
When I gained
over 60 pounds excess weight in college, and the doctors
prescribed medicine for high blood pressure, she didn’t ask
me why. She asked me if I was grateful for my healthy body.
And if I was, then why was I carrying the extra weight that
was having a negative effect on my health? When my bother
experimented with drugs in High School ...
(Con't ...)
TESTIMONIAL:
"Congruency of gratitude and actions --
the section with 'Mom's' words were an eye opener."
~ Janis Murphy, Lexington, MO ~
Afterword (excerpt)
P.S.
What I learned in my research is that the path to genuine
gratitude is different for everyone. This research and
writing this book was my path. This book was several years
in writing. This project has taken me from thinking about
the winding canyon road with the steep cliff on one side and
no guardrail, to an energy of passionate possibilities.
I’ve been asked if it scares me that I still know where that
cliff is. No it doesn’t. What scares me if a life without
hope; a life without choices; a life without passion.
(Con't ...)
"Living your life through
Gratitude, is not one of comparing how you are better than
someone else;
or Gratitude only for what you own or obtain
or achieve.
Living your life through Gratitude is seeing that the world would be
missing something very valuable if you were not in it." ~
Sumner M. Davenport~
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
Ralph Waldo Emerson
LIVE GRATITUDE
John F Kennedy
THANKFUL FOR EVERYTHING
Kitty O'neill Collins
GRATITUDE POLLS
PERSONAL MANTRA
Whitney Allen
Erich Fromm
GRATITUDE & SELF WORTH
Reinhold Niebuhr
HEROES TALE
Lou Paget
Marcus Aurelius Antonius
MY LEAST FAVORITE QUOTES
Anonymous
Friedrich Nietzsche
Mother Theresa
SEASONS
King James Bible
HOLDING GRATITUDE HOSTAGE
William James
LETTING GO
Memo From God
Monica Burnert
THE LIONESS APPEARS
Glennie Wilburn
John Churton Collins
UNEXPECTED GRATITUDE
Eileen Caddy
GOOD SPIRITUALITY
Zig Ziglar
Alfred-Pierre Joseph Agache PERSPECTIVE
Frederick Langbridge
Bill Vaughan
SOLACE OF GRATITUDE
Jacqueline Johns
ADVANCE GRATITUDE
Ann Hill
G.K. Chesterton
YOU TOLD ME I WAS
Andrew Combe
Catherine "CC" Collier
MOM
Veronica Davina
BECAUSE
Chinese Proverb
Lao-tzu, Tao te Ching
Albert Einstein
ALL AROUND US
J.M. Barrie
GRATITUDE BOOK
Abraham Maslow
ONE AT A TIME
Julien Green
GIFT
William Arthur Ward
EARLY INFLUENCES
Cart Gustav Jung
AnaTs Nin
FAMILY & FRIENDS
Marcel Proust
Albert Schweitzer
UNANSWERED PRAYERS
Garth Brooks
ROCKS OR FLOWERS
Unknown
PAY IT FORWARD
Anne Morrow
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
Lorraine Jackson
W.T. Purkiser
GRATITUDE AS GLUE
Dr Bunny Vreeland
MAKE A LIST
Irish Saying
Benjamin Disraeli
BETTER THAN WARM MILK
Eric Hoffer
GRATITUDE DIET
AFTERWORD
Elie Wiesel
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