Living in Gratitude

Book excerpt: What would happen if you made gratitude your focal point for one full year? With Living in Gratitude, Angeles Arrien invites you to find out. Integrating the latest teachings from social science with stories, prayers, and practices from cultures and traditions spanning the globe, she presents a 12-month plan for making gratitude your foundation for daily living. Opening with themes such as “Beginning Anew” and “The Power of Equanimity” and progressing to “Letting Be and Letting Go,” “The Mystic Heart,” and more, readers will steep themselves in “the parent of all virtues,” exploring: How to overcome habitual tendencies toward envy, comparison, and narcissism • Blessings, learnings, mercies, and protections—the four portals to the grateful heart, and how to cultivate these key entryways in our work, relationships, health, finances, and personal growth • Journaling and reflection exercises, perennial and indigenous wisdoms, and universal practices for every season and situation “The practice of gratitude bestows many benefits,” writes Angeles Arrien. “Anger, arrogance, and jealousy melt in its embrace. Fear and defensiveness dissolve. Gratitude diminishes barriers to love and evokes happiness, keeping alive what has meaning for us.” Living in Gratitude is a dependable resource for making this cherished virtue your guiding light along life’s journey.