Gratitude's Transcending Power 2nd Edition

By Sharon Norcia Mason

No one passes through life without experiencing setbacks, trials, or deprivation of some kind. In spite of such challenges, blessings can grace our days and soften the impact of life’s hardest blows.

Gratitude’s Transcending Power carries the reader through a striking paradigm shift in how we look at life’s trials. If you thought that adversity was your enemy, this book will help you to reconsider those feelings. If you feel you have little left to be thankful for, reading this book will teach you how to navigate and appreciate not only the joys of life, but also the trials and challenges. Learn how to better handle adversity by taking charge of your attitude and outlook. No matter what challenges you might face, this book will help you recognize the good that is there for you to discover and appreciate.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Castle Mountain Press
• Release date: Nov 4, 2013
• ISBN: 9780982710883

Sharon Norcia Mason

Sharon Norcia Mason is a graduate of Brigham Young University (BYU). It was while attendingBYU that she first began studying the concept of gratitude and its effects on problem solving,interpersonal relationships, and personal satisfaction. She is excited that major universities are now investigating the benefits of gratitude on physical and emotional well-being.She and her husband, R. Lynn Mason, raised their seven children in her home town of Stonington, Connecticut. There she served in a variety of community and church-based organizations for more than thirty years. The couple now resides in Utah.

Book preview

Gratitude’s

Transcending

Power

2nd Edition

If you have been looking for a reason to hope, if you have

wondered what could possibly cause your

heart to rejoice, here is your answer.

Sharon Norcia Mason

Copyright 2006 by Sharon Norcia Mason

Author Photo © 2006 Karie Clingo. All Rights Reserved.

Cover Design by Canvas Sky Graphic Design All Rights Reserved

Published by Castle Mountain Press

Smashwords Edition

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

To my mother, whose example

of strength and gratitude has been

my sustaining power.

Acknowledgements

No book about gratitude would be complete without expressing sincere thanks to all the people who made it happen.

Thank you to all the friends who contributed their personal stories. You’ve added so much to this work!

Special appreciation to Professor Don Norton, James Rawson and Ellen Allred of Brigham Young University who were so encouraging as I wrote my first book on gratitude. That version fulfilled a graduation requirement, but their enthusiasm and belief in its value did so much more!

Thank you to Joy Lundberg, who encouraged me to rewrite my book for a general audience. You are ever gracious and inviting.

Abundant gratitude is expressed to Taudine Andrew. In spite of the countless hours spent critiquing the first edition version, you made me feel like you always had time!

Many thanks to Jim and Phyllis Conis, whose professionalism and oversight have provided a supporting and gentle hand in getting the second edition of this book into print. And almost last, but not at all least, my deep appreciation to Kherna, Richard, Charlie and Lynette Shipp, and Debora Shipp Webb whose editing and suggestions added so much to the first edition manuscript.

Most especially, thanks to Lynn. I could not have written this without your help. This book is for you!

Names of friends who contributed their personal stories have been changed to protect their privacy.

Contents

Introduction

chapter one

Opening Our Hearts

chapter two

Nature, A Grounding Place

chapter three

Adversity, The Great Oppositional Force

chapter four

Meeting the Challenges of Adversity

chapter five

Setting Goals—Having Gratitude For Our Purpose in Life

chapter six

Achieving Goals Attitude Makes a Difference

chapter seven

Time for Reflection

chapter eight

Acknowledging the Giver

chapter nine

Enjoying the Moment

chapter ten

A Sense of Plenty

chapter eleven

Affirming the Positive

chapter twelve

Gratitude’s Quiet Influence

Conclusion

The Transcending Power of Gratitude

Chapter Notes

About the Author

*****

Introduction

Late one morning in March of 2003 I sat in quiet shock. My husband and I had just returned from a visit to the neurologist. After everything the doctor said, two words loomed in our minds, leaving us stunned—Parkinson’s disease. Suddenly, the hopes we had shared for our future were viciously snatched from our grasp. We were disoriented, not knowing quiet how to address our lives. The previous four years had presented us with many changes and trials—the death of my step dad from a brain tumor, my father-in-law’s passing, the unexpected death of my writing partner, a debilitating auto-immune disease that had taken me nearly three years to overcome, and now this—a frightening challenge with consequences more unnerving than all the others.

We had moved cross-country a year earlier so that our daughter could be closer to her cousin, Ellen. Ellen’s steady example and encouragement had played a major role in helping Rebecca through a difficult time in her life. My husband’s health had also been on the decline for about two years, and we thought that getting away from the stress of business might be beneficial. However, it soon became apparent that there was something more to his lack of vitality. We just had not known what it was. Now we did!

As much as I was hurting, I knew that his pain must be even greater. He had left the construction business he loved, simply because he did not have the health and strength to work any longer. We had hoped that our move would allow him to de-stress and recuperate, so that he could get back to his passion for building. Now we knew that would never happen. Exposure to the chemicals in wood, dust from sheet rock, and fumes from glues, solvents and paints would only hasten the progression of his disease. And with the rigidity and lack of balance so common in Parkinson’s patients, climbing ladders was now forbidden. So many changes, so much devastating news had filled our lives. How would we handle this latest blow?

Several years earlier I had written a book on gratitude—a project I had undertaken to fulfill a graduation requirement for my bachelor’s degree. During the months since we had moved I had begun rewriting that manuscript and studying its principles. As I sat, thinking about our situation, I knew that if we were going to survive and thrive in our present situation, we must consciously and consistently live by the principles in that book. I felt sure that the challenges we were facing, difficult as they were, did not have to become a force that undermined our faith in God, or our marriage. This was a time for pulling together, being positive, and focusing on our blessings.

Since that time, working through our trials has shown me that even when sorrows and disappointments come one after another, the human spirit has the capacity and power to overcome, not just with stoic dignity, but with joy and thanksgiving. For, in spite of what may be wrong, there is an abundance of good in life. This work is presented as a guidebook for maneuvering through the twists, turns and trials that are sometimes an integral and seemingly endless part of our mortal journey. In addition, I hope it will serve as an aid to help discover how to diminish the sense of despair that often accompanies adversity, and bring you to a place of hope and peace.

Gratitude is a virtue so powerful it can help us to transcend any trial, and leave us rejoicing in the good that touches us each day. Within the pages of this book, you will discover how to connect with that power, how to use that spirit of thanksgiving to meet life’s challenges, and then, how to go out into the world to bless others as you help them to enjoy an increase of this remarkable trait. As a consequence, you will find that, not only is your life enriched, you will also be an instrument in elevating the lives of your friends, family and acquaintances.

I have not always handled adversity in an admirable way. For me, discovering the power of gratitude has been very much a journey of personal change. As I have employed this exceptional virtue it has helped me to shift my thinking from negative to positive. As a result, rather than becoming defeated by life’s difficulties, I have become aware of the blessings that surround me. I was not always aware. As I have passed through the experiences of life, I have, after much error, learned to accentuate the positive, not by imagining that life is better than it really is, but by opening my eyes and heart to the very real blessings that are constantly being extended to me.

There are always abundant gifts that can lift our soul, bring us peace, and influence us for good. However, because challenges insert themselves into our lives, and because it is a common foible to focus on what we do not have, we sometimes lose sight of our blessings. This book is a practical guide to help keep you in constant remembrance of the many reasons you have to rejoice in a spirit of thanksgiving. Indeed, there is no difficulty or heartache that cannot be eased, no selfish trait that cannot be overcome, by exercising the always free but ever priceless gift of gratitude. As you read and ponder the principles in this book, and apply them to your life, you, too, will come to experience gratitude’s transcending power.

chapter one Opening Our Heart

I sit alone and commune with my heart,

pleased with my little corner

of the earth, glad that I came.

Edward Fitzgerald ¹

Given the right circumstances, childhood can be a passage of wonder and delight. Mine was just such a passage where curiosity was encouraged, hard work was expected, and discovery was invited with many opportunities to learn and grow. Although my childhood was confined to the geographic limits of southeastern Connecticut, I enjoyed the unparalleled freedom of wandering through the local fishing village, exploring beaches, and playing in the woods.

When I was about twelve my curiosity for scientific investigation was ignited by a wise and encouraging junior high school teacher, Mr. Krivanick. Imagining a career in biology, I asked an aunt if I could have some empty baby food jars. I was deeply into the idea of exploring the woodlands that surrounded my home, and would often go to the library to borrow books that detailed how to carry out simple scientific experiments.

On this particular occasion I was preparing to collect specimens for observation with a magnifying glass, and later under the lens of my brother’s microscope. I carefully sterilized the jars in boiling water, as I had seen my mother sterilize baby bottles when she took care of my infant cousin. After cooling the jars on a kitchen towel, I placed them in a paper sack. Borrowing a scalpel, dropper, and tweezers from the microscope kit, I happily began my adventure. I scraped specimens of fungus off of trees, sliced paper thin segments from mushrooms, scooped up water, and collected the tiniest flowers I could find. With an intense feeling of joy and anticipation I searched the forest floor, on tree trunks, and in a little spring for just the right samples. Then using the tweezers and dropper, I placed each specimen in a separate jar and hurried home.

I was so excited to examine these simple treasures! What detail and design would they reveal? What minute creatures, hidden from the naked eye? Merely looking for each item had brought an increased awareness of my surroundings, but magnification would open up a whole new world, usually hidden from my view—and what a world that was! A tiny drop of water on a slide provided a vast pool for the infinitesimal life that swam within its boundaries. The magnified view of a flower, no bigger than a small seed, became a masterpiece of brilliant blue, outlining the gently curving edges of a delicate white blossom. A small bit of dandelion fluff revealed myriad interlacing filaments that, to my unaided eye, had been nothing more than a downy mass.

Perhaps you have done something similar, not necessarily with specimens from nature, but possibly you have carefully studied a person, concept, or relationship. As you took the time to investigate, ask questions, look and listen, you became aware of things you never had supposed. With this enlightenment