The Power of Gratitude

We usually thank others when they give us something; but our gratitude itself can be a gift.

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

“Waste no more time in arguing what a good man should be. Be one.” — Marcus Aurelius

She was a large woman with a large purse that had everything in it but hammer and nails. It had a long strap, and she carried it slung across her shoulder. It was about eleven o’clock at night, and she was walking alone, when a boy ran up behind her and tried to snatch her purse. The strap broke and the boy fell on his back on the sidewalk. The large woman simply turned around and kicked him right square in the pants. Then she reached down, picked the boy up by his shirt front, and shook him until his teeth rattled.

She continued to hold him until he picked up her purse and then she said, “Now ain’t you ashamed of yourself?”

Firmly gripped by his shirt front, the boy said, “Yes’m.”

  “If I turn you loose, will you run?” asked the woman.

  “Yes’m,” said the boy.

  “Then I won’t turn you loose,” said the woman. …