Wholeheartedly

Today I am grateful for what living gratefully has taught me and brought to me. I am grateful for the holiday of Thanksgiving today in the U.S. It is my favorite holiday. 

A holiday that focuses on giving thanks is right up my alley, but living gratefully is part of my daily plan. It needs to be if I want to reap the full benefits of it. And those benefits are summed up by a healthier perspective and a less self-centered approach to life. 

The benefits also include improved overall wellness, because living gratefully helps brings physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health. There's plenty of scientific research to back up those claims if you need that kind of evidence. My life experience over the last two decades has been proof positive for me.

To close the post and open up some thoughts about this day, here are two quotes from my favorite gratitude guy, Brother David Steindl-Rast:

"Love wholeheartedly, be surprised, give thanks and praise-then you will discover 

the fullness of your life." 

"The greatest gift one can give is thanksgiving. In giving gifts, we give what we can spare, 

but in giving thanks we give ourselves."

Followed by this quote that I don't think I have ever seen before, but that gets my wholehearted thumbs up:

"ThanksGiving is good but ThanksLiving is better."

(Matthew Henry)

This year of 2017 has been a challenging year in many respects for many I care about, and for me as well, making living gratefully all the more crucial. Happy Thanksgiving to all! Onward.