Gratitude vs. Thankfulness

Gratitude is a gift

This essay has become something of an annual tradition at Timeless & Timely. I genuinely appreciate you slowing down with me here.

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 when you’re the recipient of a kind word or gesture and you respond 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 someth…