Advent Day Seventeen

My niece posted this video on Facebook yesterday, from a great news site self-proclaimed for Generation-Y. Doug and I talk about first world problems all the time and how really, our “problems” are not really problems at all. Seeing videos like this, reading books about the horrors in the world, heck–just turning on the news sometimes, and combining all of this with my conversations with Doug continually reminds me to be grateful for what I have.

Here are the seven most popular gratitude quotes according to Psychology Today:

1.  “Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” – Marcel Proust
2. “We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.” – Thornton Wilder
3. As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. – John F. Kennedy
4. At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us. Albert Schweitzer
5. The deepest craving of human nature is the need to be appreciated.
– WIlliam James
6. “Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.”
– Oprah Winfrey
7. He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.” – Epictetus

Gratitude practices abound and are shown to be good for you, too–maybe you have one? I’d love to know ways that other people practice gratitude. I write things down on slips of paper and put them in a jar. When I run I list things for which I am thankful in my mind. What about you?