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Gratitude as behavior

Thank you note

Anne Lamott writes: “Gratitude begins in our hearts and then dovetails into behavior.” (Page 56, Help Thanks Wow). I have certainly found that to be true, but so is its converse: the behavior of gratitude creates more gratitude in the heart. It is a cycle – a cycle of gratitude. Unlike a vicious cycle, which tends to circle us down to negativity and despair; the gratitude cycle spins us upward to joy and freedom. The more gratitude we feel, the more gratitude gets expressed in our lives; and the more gratitude we express generates more gratitude in the heart.

This is a relatively new learning for me. Part of it may have to do with the fact that, for me, gratitude began as more of an obligation. As a child, whenever something was given to me – be it a gift or a compliment, there always seemed to be a parent or grandparent hovering about insisting that I say thank you; or write a note of thanks. So the thank you was a response to the directive, and not to the gift.

That has changed for me. I now write a lot of thank you notes. Some people may receive them as an expected social courtesy. That’s fine. I write and send them because they become a springboard for more gratitude – and greater freedom and deeper joy.

How do gratitude and behavior interrelate in your life?

Comments

I felt grounded by LaMott's statement that "gratitude is peace." Indeed, when we gratefully receive our lives as gifts from God and live in the reality of God's constant presence, then there is a sense of fullness and security that give inner peace. One of the ways that gratitude works in my life is my experience that everything I have/possess/enjoy is "on loan" and dispensable. I find it easy to give things away because what I have has been given to me.

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