Lawyers Helping Lawyers
| Publication year | 2020 |
| Pages | 22 |
LAWYERS HELPING LAWYERS
Gratitude: A Superpower for Lawyers
By Beth Padgett
Gratitude is not only the greatest of the virtues, but the parent of all the others ~ Cicero
What is gratitude, really???
Most of us are more than adequate at saying thank you, especially at work and social settings. We might get a little lazy about it around the house. Parents are regularly reminding children to say thank you. Some people have more trouble than others saying thanks. Some people feel gratitude more deeply than others, and some people are better able to express gratitude.
Gratitude is an important practice for people in 12-step recovery programs. Gratitude is often a topic in meetings. It is not always a welcomed topic, however. The grumpy members of the group often bristle against it, claiming life is too difficult for something so simple to matter, or claiming their lives are still so difficult they cannot find anything for which to be grateful. Many of these folks do seem to have a change of heart before the meeting hour is up!
Let us break below the surface of gratitude and look at some important findings. Probably the best-known researcher of gratitude is Robert Emmons, who is a psychologist at University of California at Davis. Probably the best-known spiritual figure whose work focuses on gratitude is Brother David Steindl-Rast, a Benedictine Monk who has a Ph.D. in experimental psychology. Their websites link to each other’s and to many gratitude-focused websites across the world. They are filled with eye-opening and heart-opening articles, essays, pictures, and videos that can fill your wellbeing requirement for the day! Try to visit each of the sites below before the month is over.
• https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/ profile/robert_emmons
• https://emmons.faculty.ucdavis. edu/
• https://gratefulness.org/
What do Emmons and Steindl-Rast say about gratitude? Gratitude makes us appreciate the value of people, places, things, and experiences. Whatever we hold with more value gets treated by us with greater care. Gratitude can make us kinder. We adapt easily to what is in our lives, even (or especially) the good things. Practicing gratitude helps us stay alive to all the goodness in our lives. Life can be a celebration instead of a chore!
Gratitude has a bonus. Gratitude is not just about noticing the good. Gratitude causes us...
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