A Simple Act of Gratitude
From the day I finally convinced my mother to teach me to read, my appetite for books was set to nonstop hungry. There were times when I would read a book a day (they were small books). I absolutely loved reading, up until 11th grade, when my school assignments outgrew my available time, and my books had to go on the shelf. Since then, I’ve found it difficult to read at all, and I really struggle to finish the books I start. Until this week.
This week, I read an entire book from start to finish. By Thursday. For me, that’s a big deal. The book was A Simple Act of Gratitude by John Kralik. In this book, John details how dark and dreadful his life had become, and how making a commitment to a simple practice of gratitude transformed everything.
While this book inspired me to start up my own little gratitude project, it did a far greater thing than that; it infected me. I found myself uncontrollably more thankful as the week went on. I started the week—and the book—extremely frustrated, nearing despair at times. I finished the week so grateful that I was overwhelmed with the beautiful life I’ve been blessed with.
Gratitude is often hailed as the most powerful of all emotions, because it puts us into direct connection with ultimate power (I choose to call it God). Gratitude increases our faith, our hope, and our love. And, as an ancient sacred writing tells us, there’s nothing greater than these three! Finally, gratitude is influential. It’s interesting to note that the word influenza (the flu) actually comes from the word influence. To be a person of influence is to be contagious. And hopefully, we have something worth catching!
Whether you need to catch the flu today for yourself, or you want to become more contagious for others, I humbly suggest A Simple Act of Gratitude. Whether you do it or read it, it’s hard to stop once you get started!
