Mark Kemp has been a member since February 3rd 2009, and has created 11 posts from scratch.
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Epictetus (AD 55-135) the Greek sage and Stoic philosopher observed:
“He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.”
If you are truly grateful for what you already have, will that stop you from seeking and obtaining more? Is your role in life to be one who is always seeking? Why not try rejoicing for a change. What is the point of acquiring riches if you never take the time to enjoy them?
Thornton Wilder wrote: “We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.”
Interesting that Thornton mentions “heart” consciousness and not “mind” consciousness. Mentally listing all the things we have to be grateful for is not the same as feeling gratitude for the things on the list.
According to Cicero: “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.”
Just like Wallace Wattles observed, it all starts with gratitude. Of course, Cicero predated Wattles by 2,000 years, so we know that this observation has stood the test of time.
“Gratitude is a fruit of great cultivation; you do not find it among gross people.”
Samuel Johnson, BOSWELL, Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides [September 20, 1773].
I have been re-reading Think and Grow Rich during the last month, and Napoleon Hill describes thoughts as “seeds” that you nurture and grow with your persistent attention. It appears that gratitude may be the same — identify the persons, events, and things for which you are grateful each day, and grow your gratitude with persistent time and attention.
In the movie, Annie Hall, Woody Allen observes:
“I feel that life is divided into the horrible and the miserable. That’s the two categories. The horrible are like, I don’t know, terminal cases, you know, and blind people, crippled. I don’t know how they get through life. It’s amazing to me. And the miserable is everyone else. So you should be thankful that you’re miserable, because that’s very lucky, to be miserable.”