Gratefulness
“Fisher’s Dream” was created by one of my favourite artists, Karen Gallant, from Prince Edward Island. You can explore more of her stunning work here.
“How many of us go through our days parched and empty, thirsting after happiness, when we’re really standing knee-deep in the river of abundance?” — Sarah Ban
I recently read Wake Up Grateful: The Transformative Practice of Taking Nothing for Granted, by Kristi Nelson and I can honestly say I’ve never highlighted a book more. It’s filled with profound nuggets of wisdom, offering countless truths that deeply resonated with me. Reading this book was an incredibly rewarding experience.
Kristi Nelson, an author and advocate for grateful living, holds a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard’s Kennedy School. Nelson’s journey through cancer led her to embrace life’s impermanence and uncertainty, discovering gratefulness as a path to healing and wholeness. Through her guidance, Nelson helps readers navigate life with compassion, resilience, and gratitude.
The book served as a meaningful reminder of what truly matters, urging the reader not to take life’s beauty and possibilities for granted, even amidst darkness and fear. Kristi Nelson’s wisdom invites us to align our lives with a deep awakening to gratitude and presence. It teaches us to appreciate the beauty and possibility always present.
Her writing guides one to hold life tenderly, foster kindness and love. It is a soul-stirring companion for life’s challenges and joys. Nelson’s journey through cancer led her to embrace life’s impermanence and uncertainty, discovering gratefulness as a path to healing and wholeness. I found her book at the right time and it continues to help me navigate life with compassion, resilience, and gratitude.
Kristi Nelson’s Five Guiding Principles:
Life Is a Gift
Everything Is Surprise
The Ordinary Is Extraordinary
Appreciation Is Generative, and
Love Is Transformative.
These principles are touchstones you can turn to at any time and in any situation to remind you of what matters most in living gratefully.
The book deeply resonated with me, and with over 400 highlights noted, it’s a challenge to narrow them down, but here are a few that stood out for today’s newsletter.
Quotes from Waking Up Grateful
“After some challenging years, dramatic wake-up calls, and my share of spiritual suffering, I came to realize that maintaining a grateful perspective is a true practice. Just as it takes commitment to keep a muscle strong, the same is true of perspective.”
“Grateful living reconnects me with a fidelity to life. And this fidelity reminds me what a gift it is to be alive, and that it could always — and will someday — be otherwise.”
“Living gratefully establishes the conditions not only for deeper happiness but also for generosity and the impulse to serve others.”
“When life feels too small or too big to handle, too predictable or too uncertain, this is when we need gratefulness most.”
“Our lives can often feel very full, too full. While this fullness is something we might begrudge, it also reflects privilege and good fortune if regarded differently.”
”Throughout your day, catch yourself whenever you think, “I have to . . .” and try to substitute with “I get to.” You can also try adding, “because I can” to the end of your “get-to” statements. This can help you see your tasks as privileges you may not have always had and may not always have in the future, and that many people do not have at all. Begin to notice how much other people use obligated language in day-to-day conversations. Experiment with seeing and claiming your responsibilities and obligations as privileges and opportunities.”
“We can have all the things we think should bring us happiness, but without gratefulness, contentment will be elusive.”
When we think of life as a gift, we can fully trust that as long as we are breathing, we are receiving. Tuning into the miracle of our breath and bodies at any moment is a baseline reminder.
“Feeling that life must unfold in particular ways that will please us is a recipe for loss of humility and connection. Entitlement can often look like arrogance. It is also the sibling of greed. The underbelly of entitlement is often an inferiority complex.”
“We are awakened to gratefulness when we recognize the countless contributions of others on whom we rely and depend in the course of our daily lives. This recognition is humbling.”
“When we are grateful, it wakes us up to what matters.”
“Throughout this unpredictable blessing called life, gratefulness helps us to be awake, aware, alert, appreciative, and alive. These are the attributes of an intentional life, and the states of consciousness that foster insight and wisdom, necessary in leading the life we want to live now and have lived in the end.”
“The wisdom of gratefulness rests on the opportunity to actively appreciate what you have now.”
“One of the most important reasons to live with gratefulness is that it keeps us connected with our deepest cares, greatest blessings, and true priorities without needing a dramatic wake-up call to remind us of them.”
“How could being more awake to what you appreciate serve your life?”
Inspired Things…
The Nikon Wildlife Comedy Awards. Hilarious photos of animals. Loved this. Click Here to View.
A Positive Outlook on Aging is Linked to Feeling Sharper Mentally, Says New Study. Click Here to Read.
A new start after 60: I became a ‘hummingbird’ for people with dementia. Click Here to Read.
While writing today, I have been listening to Canadian pianist, Angela Hewitt perform Bach’s Goldberg Variations. Very Good.
