It is amazing how many occasions present themselves in which I can choose gratitude instead of a complaint.
Henri J. M. Nouwen

Choose Gratitude
Topic: Gratitude
“In the past I always thought of gratitude as a spontaneous response to the awareness of gifts received, but now I realize that gratitude can also be lived as a discipline. The discipline of gratitude is the explicit effort to acknowledge that all I am and have is given to me as a gift of love, a gift to be celebrated with joy.
Gratitude as a discipline involves a conscious choice. I can choose to be grateful even when my emotions and feelings are still steeped in hurt and resentment. It is amazing how many occasions present themselves in which I can choose gratitude instead of a complaint. I can choose to be grateful when I am criticized, even when my heart still responds in bitterness. I can choose to speak about goodness and beauty, even when my inner eye still looks for someone to accuse or something to call ugly. I can choose to listen to the voices that forgive and to look at the faces that smile, even while I still hear words of revenge and see grimaces of hatred.
Henri Jozef Machiel Nouwen (January 24, 1932 – September 21, 1996) was a Dutch Catholic priest and writer who authored 40 books on the spiritual life.
Gratitude as a Discipline
Nouwen, Henri J. M., and John Garvey. Henri Nouwen. Templegate, 1988, p. 26 [Circles of Love” on Father Henri J.M. Nouwen’s writings, 1988 (Gratitude and Action)].

Henri J. M. Nouwen
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