We cannot be grateful for all that a given moment brings us; yet, in any given moment, we can be grateful for something. The gift within the gift of any given moment is opportunity. – Brother David Steindl-Rast
Have you ever thought of the difference between gratitude and gratefulness? The rhythmic cliché “an attitude of gratitude” is tossed about frequently as a solution for a more positive outlook on life, and there are scientific studies reporting the many benefits of adopting this way of living. We are taught to say ‘thank you’ for a gift given and to appreciate favours extended to us, all of which is great.
Gratitude is a response to something outside of us and herein lies the distinction because gratefulness is an internal driver. It’s the lens through which we view life, an interior navigation system that easily leans into gratitude, preventing it being forced or manipulated. We cannot simply ‘will’ ourselves to be thankful, we must feel it deeply and it is an inner gratefulness that nurtures this.
The Latin root word for gratefulness is gratia meaning both grace and graciousness, which I believe reflects why I have always felt God’s grace sitting in the middle of gratefulness offering hope and joy.
Think about the times when you have felt a deep sense of appreciation for something completely unexpected that creates a sense of wonder within you. Do you remember the feel of God’s grace? It is something tangible warming your gut and rippling out into every cell of your body. There’s an ignition of buoyancy that fires joy and hope into your moment. This is gratefulness in its full glory.
Psalm 100:4 instructs us to enter God’s ‘gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise’. We know we have so much to thank God for but the extra gift He bestows on us is that in being grateful, we are the ones who benefit the most because it affects how we live our lives on earth. It anchors hope and joy within us, so that when our circumstances become challenging, we can prevent ourselves feeling shipwrecked.
The joy that gratefulness gifts us is unconditional and internal; unlike happiness that depends on something pleasant happening to us. Like gratitude, happiness relies on an outside stimulant to ignite it.
There are many Christians like myself who believe that God wants us to live joyously and with hope and this is why the Bible speaks of thanksgiving so often. By living in this manner, our lens moves beyond whether we consider our cup of life to be half-empty or half-full, it is the cup of life itself that we are grateful for. As Brother David suggests, when we make life itself the source of our gratefulness, we can be grateful at any given moment.
What a graciously proactive way to live.
