Attitudes of Gratitude: How to Give and Receive Joy Everyday of Your Life

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Summary: A life changer
Review: A lot has been said about having a "positive attitude," but this is one of the first books I have read that actually shows you how to accomplish this and experience life as a series of everyday miracles. I love this book and have given it as a gift several times. A must read.

Rating:
Summary: A life changer
Review: A lot has been said about having a "positive attitude," but this is one of the first books I have read that actually shows you how to accomplish this and experience life as a series of everyday miracles. I love this book and have given it as a gift several times. A must read.

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Summary: How I came to write this book
Review: I have been interested in the effects of thankfulness since 1994 when I wrote A GRATEFUL HEART, a collections of blessings for the evening meal. Since then, I have been pondering gratitude--what gifts it offers us and how we can cultivate it in our daily lives. The result is this little book. Since it came out, I have been amazed at the effect it is having on readers. I have been flooded with letters thanking me for writing the book, which only serves to reinforce my belief that an attitude of gratitude is the quickest way to find happiness in any moment.

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Summary: A Lesson to learn in every short passage...
Review: I love this book more than any other that I own. The reason is that I read one passage every night before I go to sleep and it gives me so much to think about in improving my life. I limit myself to reading only one per night so that I can concentrate on the points of the particular essay of the night. I am almost to the end of the book and plan to begin rereading it and continuing to do so until I have the messages embedded in my brain and heart!!! This book is for everyone--I recommend you buy more than one copy and give them as gifts because I don't think you'll want to lend your copy out!!!

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Summary: Excellent resource for all; cynics and optimists alike!
Review: I really appreciate this book because it gives an honest realistic way of cultivating gratitude in one's life. The author comes from a very driven, competetive mindset and shares her gentle awakening into the joys of living apart from "achieving". I respect her view more than I would someone who wrote from a "Pollyanna" point of view. Nothing worse than feeling guilty about not being grateful enough! The book is spiritually based and emphasizes acceptance. I read a page after my meditation in the morning. Great stuff!!

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful...
Review: Talk about personal feng shui! Read this book it shows you how to give in abundance. It will instruct you how to place your thoughts and actions in line with the universal laws of love, gratitude and forgiveness. I loved it. Thanks again MJ Ryan.... from the angel in Tucson.

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Summary: Required reading for Y2K International Year of Thanksgiving
Review: Talk about personal feng shui! Read this book it shows you how to give in abundance. It will instruct you how to place your thoughts and actions in line with the universal laws of love, gratitude and forgiveness. I loved it. Thanks again MJ Ryan.... from the angel in Tucson.

Rating:
Summary: Portable, Yet Profound
Review: The ideas in this book are presented in a series of essays. Even if you only read a few pages a day, you'll learn something valuable. I found the quotes used at the beginning of each section to be very inspiring, and have copied several of them into my journal. The book is a perfect size to be easily carried in a knapsack or purse if you want to read a section a day as a daily meditation. Overall, this book has been helpful to me in my quest to begin practicing an attitude of gratitude.

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful...
Review: This book actually succeeded in changing the way I view my life. I started reading a small section of the book every day at my desk before I started the day along with keeping a daily journal and over the course of a few months, I have found that I get so much more joy out of life. I notice and appreciate beauty that has always been surrounding me, but that I've never taken note of before.
It's wonderful and I recommend it to everyone. It makes a great gift, too! (especially for someone who always seems to see the glass as half empty!) What's better than the gift of joy?

Rating:
Summary: Not was I was hoping for...
Review: This book looked great from the reviews, so I decided to reserve it at the library to see if I thought it was worth purchasing. I was really excited when it was ready for pick up! I've just sat down with it tonight, however, and I'm really kind of disappointed... keep in mind this is coming from someone who has struggled for more than half her life with depression and anxiety - who has read the books and talked to professionals about problems and life and all that. This book didn't tell me anything I hadn't heard elsewhere.

To me this book seemed like a whole lot of "You should be grateful for simple things..." as opposed to, "This is how you can be grateful for simple things." I, personally, don't need someone telling me a list of things to be grateful for... I need someone to tell me *why* to be grateful for them... in a manner that is actually passionate and compelling. Why is life such a wonderful gift, why should I be moved by a rainbow, or a flower, etc.

The book is broken down into 5 "chapters", all filled with short 2 or 3 page stories. In one of the parts towards the beginning, the author talks about how worry, stress, etc., are bad for us... while gratitude and joy are good. It's not worded exactly like that, obviously, but that is the basic premise, and it's something I think just about everyone knows already. Not much is said about how you can go about getting rid of that worry and stress, though. Well, actually, there is... we can get rid of it by being grateful, but nothing seems to tell you how to do *that*.

In chapter 4, the stories start offering some suggestions. Most of them involve thinking of things you're thankful for... or thinking of ways you can improve your life to get things you want (not in a material but an emotional fashion). I didn't read anything about how to actually go about getting into the mindset of *being* thankful, or how to actually take the steps to *make* the improvements to your life.

Reading this book reminded me so much of the "Just do it" attitude I run into everywhere. In many cases, a great affirmation... but sometimes it isn't that easy. Be grateful... for life, simple things, etc. It reminds me of how people often tell you to "stop it" when they hear you are anxious or depressed. It isn't a light switch that everyone can flip on or off at will. The author DOES know this, and acknowledges that you have to work at gratitude... but I am not one of those people who is helped much by self reinforced positive affirmations on a day to day basis. That seems to be the method this book suggests.

Perhaps, if you're normally a happy person who has hit a rough spot... or if you're a person who can change easily... this book will help you. For anyone who has problems changing and needs really sound suggestions and things to practice that will do the job, I don't think I'd suggest this book. That's not to say this book is bad, I just find it average in the "help" it offers. If I judge it only among self-help books, I would say it is above average, because it's much easier and more fun to read.