Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.
Melody Beattie

A most sincere thank you.

Recently, I’ve gotten a few lovely out-of-the-blue emails from people who read this blog. I’m humbled and want to thank everyone for listening to my miscellaneous thoughts and reflections, and together exploring my passions, questions, and ideas. It’s fun for me to write, and it pushes me to think bigger and have conversations I wouldn’t otherwise have. I hope that the occasional post does that for you, too.

I suppose I could queue this post up for Thanksgiving, but why wait, right? THANK YOU for reading, commenting, reflecting, sharing, and using the blog to spark new conversations.

Someone asked me recently where I get all of the content and ideas for posts. Here’s the answer: through all of you. Almost everything comes directly or indirectly from what people in my network share via conversation, email, facebook, twitter, gchat status, or blogs. I’m constantly amazed by the scope of knowledge and information out there, and I’m lucky to have my ear to the ground in so many different places so that I can grab hold of those topics that are particularly interesting. I’m constantly learning from you, so thank you for that, too.

Obviously, I always love hearing from you, the awesome reader, so drop me a line or tweet me or chat via tumblr anytime. I mean it. And thank you, again.

Be Thankful

Be Thankful

Author Unknown

Be thankful that you don’t already have everything you desire,

If you did, what would there be to look forward to?

Be thankful when you don’t know something

For it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times.

During those times you grow.

Be thankful for your limitations

Because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for each new challenge

Because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes

They will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you’re tired and weary

Because it means you’ve made a difference.

It is easy to be thankful for the good things.

A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are

also thankful for the setbacks.

GRATITUDE can turn a negative into a positive.

Find a way to be thankful for your troubles

and they can become your blessings.

This poem is reblogged as shared in the post Why Living a Life of Gratitude Can Make You Happy.

We proved that when we said thank you, people volunteered more. Thanked volunteers completed four more projects during the year, on average, than people we left alone. Volunteers in the recognition group volunteered 15 times during the year; unrecognized individuals just 11 times. Sixteen percent of our total 97,000 volunteer opportunities filled just because we said thanks.

The recognized group also became volunteer leaders at a faster rate: 8% versus 6% for the non-recognized group. This generated 50 additional Team Leaders ready to start new projects and expand to meet the needs of our Community Partners.

Gary Bagley, Executive Director of New York Cares, in a thoughtful blog post last winter about why thanking volunteers matters and how they proved it with an experiment of directly thanking all but 600 control volunteers.

If you are managing a summer internship or volunteer program, this is a great time to start thinking: how will I say thanks?

simple things i take for granted and for which today I say “thank you”

- family members who care and are present

- friends who know how to be there and are amazing individuals

- a cozy home in a great neighborhood that I love coming home to every night

- a job that provides vocational stimulation and stability

- money for clothing, food, rent, and some fun stuff in between

- an understanding of budgeting and personal advocacy

- wonderful taste in people, places, and things (so, in nouns in general)

- skill in both math and writing

- the ability to communicate clearly and use all of my senses

- a kickin’ bod, complete with auburn hair

- a strong sense of self, including an appreciation for my own abilities and limitations

- people who have provided quality mentorship

- the ability to make lifestyle choices like vegetarianism in healthy ways that are supported by my environment

- desire. passion. faith. enthusiasm.

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