GRATEFULNESS.ORG - A Network for Grateful Living

In what way are our difficulties part of our ripening into wisdom and nobility?

Two new sets of Br. David Steindl-Rast's archival talks are now available for listening: World Religions (1984) and Genesis: Our Myth of Origin (1986).

In the press: Br. David had the honor of closing the 2013 TEDGlobal conference in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Source of all blessings, you bless us with the night sky, time to reflect, the ability to recognize the absurd, and much more, as these contest submissions show.

Thanks to Eve Landis, "Ever Deeper Roots in Love" is now translated into German, "Immer tiefere Wurzeln in der Liebe."

Send a Father’s Day ecard to your father or an esteemed mentor.

Looking for Father's Day or Graduation gifts? Visit our Gift Shop: journals, mugs, t-shirts, and more.

Br. David's "Contemplative Community" essay is now available in Chinese, thanks to translator Rosa Pang.

It's reinvigorating to notice the gifts right under your nose.

This month's GratefulNews explores breaks with tradition.

Honor your favorite graduate with an ecard.

Check out these seven services that help shrink your carbon footprint, lighten your economic load, and release you from some of the shackles of excess stuff.

In the final part of her series on Gratitude in Education, Kerry Howells notes the need for a healthy flow of giving and receiving amongst all parties in the learning process.

Billy Collins' poem about giving his mother a handmade lanyard reveals an abyss and suggests a tenderness that fills it.

What can you do when you feel spread thin by caring for too many people?

April's newsletter reminow.ds us to "mend the part of the world that is within our reach," as Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés eloquently puts it.

Individuality, continuing community, photo albums, and compost are just a few of the blessings on this new page of submissions to our 100th Blessing contest.

Freshly reminded of the senselessness of violence by the bombings in Boston, we light candles in dedication to peace.

James Baraz and Shoshana Alexander write that when we get lost in fantasies of “my life could (or should) be better,” we’re missing the only life we actually have.

We invite you to visit our updated Grief and Joy resources. Descriptions of each offering help you find your way to the ones right for you. You may want to start with the introduction.

Need a dose of wisdom? We have added several new lectures to Br. David's audio archives.

April's GratefulNews looks at opportunities amidst challenges: how to restore Harlem's Dance Theater, increase empathy, defuse conflict, provide vital medicine, and more.

Br. David Steindl-Rast's essay "Shared Spirituality" is now available in Chinese as 靈修共享, thanks to the work of our esteemed translator Rosa Pang.

Congratulations to our 12 blessings contest winners, and thanks to all who took time to participate!

Br. David will offer a talk on June 14th in Edinburgh, Scotland at TEDGlobal2013, which brings together people who stir us to think again.

Not until students settle into a safe haven can they be present enough to learn, writes Kerry Howells in Part 3 of her series about gratitude in education.

Thinking of starting a Grateful Living Group in your community? Please make free use of these updated resources.

Br. David Steindl-Rast, Dr. Christina Puchalski, Dr. Larry Dossey, and more distinguished guest writers share perspectives on the role of spirituality during illness.

Mary of Magdala: "Since when were senses anything more than extravagant hints to pierce the heart?"

Send peace and joy to your loved ones with Equinox, Passover, and Easter ecards. For your convenience, you can schedule cards in advance.

Download Brother David's talks and lectures from his new Audio Library.

“Gratitude is the golden hinge on which the gate of contented sobriety swings,” according to an Alcoholics Anonymous old-timer.

The preview issue of Contemplative Journal offers a video series with five eminent teachers exploring the role of compassion in humanity's future.

Br. David's 2013 summer events now include "Interactive Mindfulness" with Anthony Chavez at Esalen Institute, July 5-7.

Ever feel habituated to a fast pace?

The Mindfulness Bell is back!

Recent papal news brought to mind Pope John XXIII's ten simple rules for daily living.

Br. David retells "Two Old Men," a folktale by Leo Tolstoy, leaving us to ponder who reached the pilgrimage's goal.

Imagine single-handedly converting a sandbar into a 1,360-acre forest! This story and more inspiration fill our March Gratefulnews.

If healing and trust are on your mind, you may find solace in two videos newly added to our Belonging topic.

In honor of the great gift of water, we offer this traditional Irish rain blessing.

"If we were to meet gratitude face to face she would say 'take action that serves others...clear the air, and connect,'" writes educator Kerry Howells.

What few of us get to witness in the wild -- the extraordinary colors, dances, and sounds of birds-of-paradise -- Cornell's Lab of Ornithology has given us online.

Die Selbstverständlichkeit und Einfachheit dieser Übung sind ein grosser Vorteil. (View in English - our thanks to Eve Landis for the German translation.)

Do you have friends who would enjoy our Chinese website? Newly added, thanks to translator Rosa Pang: Thanksgiving Song (also in German and English).

Thank you for the great light you bring to the world, represented here by passing the milestone of 15,000,000 candles.

The very act of appreciating someone or something instantly calls forth joy.

How do you shape a spiritual practice? Br. David Steindl-Rast offers his perspectives in parts 5 and 6 of his videotaped Spiritual Biography.

As Jessica Cox's story shows, we are capable of much more than we ordinarily believe.

This index of practice resources is designed to help you go deeper into the rich benefits of grateful living.

Br. David explores the natural simplicity of grateful-living practice.

In the first part of a series on gratitude in education, Kerry Howells looks at powerful strategies to keep students engaged.

This month's Gratefulnews takes us behind the scenes: in lasting relationships, in the Chinese New Year, in the story of a peace ambassador, and more.

We would love to see you at George Washington University's 5th Annual Spirituality and Health Summer Institute – GWish – in Washington, DC, July 10-13.

Here's a growing list of videos showing why people give to A Network for Grateful Living (ANG*L).

Puzzled by how best to celebrate St. Valentine’s Day? Send your love through a free e-card or visit our online store.

Lia Gimanis speaks about The Surprising Power of Gratitude, which literally saved her life as a homeless person.

Join our 99 Blessings Contest!

Thank you from all our hearts to our 2012 supporters, who help bring to this world a spirit of grateful cooperation and peace.

Our friend Mirabai Chrin of Hearty Apple Signs and Designs generously provided a set of five new calligraphied e-cards for our collection.

Now available on-demand: our much-requested "Awakening to Gratefulness" e-course.

February's newsletter revels in life's continual shower of blessings.

Want help applying gratefulness to your life and your broader concerns about the world? Here is a step-by-step guide.

This poem has a biting honesty, characteristic of Shakespeare. It won't let us explain away our icy ingratitude or our stinging disregard for friends' needs.

Our January newsletter is about setting in motion the spiral of gratefulness through sustained practice.

How does a song go from complete obscurity to a universal presence? Check out this month's Gratefulnews for this story and much more.

What gets in the way of being grateful, and how can we overcome these obstacles? Rabbi Shefa Gold dives deep into liturgy and life for insights.

In the Press: Psychology and social work professor Connie Corley suggests that we skip New Year's resolutions in favor of a steadily maintained practice of gratitude.

Model Cameron Russell speaks with candor and courage about the power of body image.

Children, who throw themselves into sleep no less than waking, remind us to be keenly attentive, as Naomi Shihab Nye’s poem illustrates.

Br. David Steindl-Rast's Praying the Great Dance is now available in German: Den Grossen Tanz beten.

There's still time to sign up for "Choosing to Love"!

Need some reassurance about the weight of your responsibilities? Explore the space between givens (newly updated!).

Put together the likes of Christoph Niemann, Terry Gross, and Maurice Sendak, and you get one of the most moving revelations about loss and love imaginable.

As we enter 2013, let us be the first to bring you glad tidings, through Mr. Moses.

With a shift in viewpoint, a radical appreciation becomes available to us in any season, as this classic Buddhist text shows.

Did you know that we have pages of grateful-living resources for elders, children, teens, and youth caretakers?

Br. David's Christmas letter speaks of a child's trust.

This month's Gratefulnews is about the full potential of things and people, even when it shows in the heroism of a life cut short.

This year, A Network for Grateful Living (ANG*L) reached more than 1.4 million people worldwide. Our 2012 Annual Report celebrates what you have made possible.

Our December newsletter suggests that one good word particularly fits this year's Solstice (hint: it's not the word "gratefulness", although that might fit, too!).

Jun 19, Birthday of Aung San Suu Kyi — "Heroine of Peace" as leader of nonviolent movement for human rights and democracy in Burma (now Myanmar); awarded Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. more »

Jun 20 - Jun 21, Feast of the Great Spirit — Native American feast day honoring the Deity as Orenda (Iroquois), Asgaya Galun Lati (Cherokee), Wakan Tanka (Lakota), and Awonawilona (Zuni). May we all turn our hearts in praise and thanksgiving to the highest power we know.

Jun 20 - Jun 23, Lakota Sun Dance — A deeply challenging ceremonial rite of passage celebrated with prayer and fasting by the Lakota people in honor of the Chief God, Wi, the Sun. During this holy span of days we recognize that only in sacrifice can we find true sacredness.

Jun 21, World Peace and Prayer Day — As people around the world are recognizing, the Solstice is a good time to pray for peace and harmony among all living beings. Mother Earth’s resources and the nations of the world must be allowed to heal if we are to live in harmony with Her.

Jun 21, Solstice — As summer begins in the North and winter in the South, we rejoice in the light: dancing around a bonfire to honor the longest day and shortest night, or gratefully greeting the return of longer days. more »

Jun 22, Birthday of Dame Cicely Saunders (1918 - 2005) — British nurse, medical social worker, physician; founder of modern hospice movement in 1967 at St. Christopher's Hospital in London, the first research and teaching hospice. We are thankful for her contributions in the field of palliative medicine. more »

Jun 22, Birthday of Anne Morrow Lindbergh (1906 - 2001) — American writer and aviator who served as radio operator, co-pilot, and navigator on flights with her husband, Charles A. Lindbergh. Her book Gift from the Sea (1955) explores our search for meaning and the need for solitude. more »

Jun 24 - Jun 27, Zuni Corn Dance — During this festival, Zuni people plant prayer sticks and call upon the rain to water their fields of maize, beans, and squash. Our life depends on crops which in turn depend on the rain’s blessing. more »

Jun 26, Birthday of Pearl S. Buck (1892 - 1973) — Birthday of Pulitzer-prize winning Pearl S. Buck, to whom we are grateful for promoting international understanding. more »

Jun 26, Birthday of Antonia Brico (1902 - 1989) — Dutch-born US symphony conductor, pianist, and teacher; first woman to conduct the Berlin Philharmonic (1930) and New York Philharmonic (1938). We salute her creative talent and pioneering efforts to overcome gender discrimination in the world of music. more »