Generosity and Gratitude
Theme for Week Two
Reflection By Scott Stoner
In practicing gratitude, we find those things that we truly love and those things that sustain us.
- Shannon Kelly
Shannon Kelly introduced us to the relationship between generosity and gratitude, a connection we will explore in depth as our focus for this week. We will provide specific prompts each day this week to help you follow Shannon’s invitation to bring to mind, and perhaps write down, three things that you are grateful for that day.
One way that generosity and gratitude are similar is that, ideally, they are both attitudes that we cultivate, not just specific actions. When we describe someone as a generous or grateful person, we are speaking of more than the good deeds they have done. We are speaking of a mindset they have, a way they have of seeing and being in the world.
When parents encourage children to share with others, they hope that through such actions, their children will grow up to be people with generous hearts, and that generosity will become a core value for them. Similarly, when we practice gratitude regularly, we are cultivating a way of seeing that recognizes blessing and gift, even in ordinary moments.
Gratitude and generosity feed each other. The more grateful we become, the more generous we tend to be. And the more generous we are, the more reasons we find to be grateful. This creates a beautiful cycle of blessing that enriches both our own lives and the lives of others.
Daily Gratitude Practice: List three people or experiences from your childhood that you are grateful for because they modeled the core value of generosity.