Are You Thankful or Grateful?

Gratitude is a gift

The First Thanksgiving at Plymouth by Jennie Augusta Brownscombe, 1914 (Wikipedia, public domain)

“The laws we live by, the freedoms we enjoy, the institutions that we take for granted — and we should never take for granted — are all the work of others who went before us. And to be indifferent to that isn’t just to be ignorant, it’s to be rude. And ingratitude is a shabby failing.” — David McCullough, 2005

How often do you practice gratitude?

Oh, I’m sure you’re thankful for a kind word or gesture, responding with politeness.

Someone says this, you say that.

Make a gesture, then reap the reward.

But there’s a difference between thankfulness and gratitude.

We teach children to say “thank you” when someone says something nice or does something for them. It’s proper etiquette. But at its core, it’s reactive.

Gratitude, on the other hand, is a deeper consideration. It’s a two-step process: first, we see goodness and affirm it, and then we recognize that goodness is external — it comes to us.

It…