Gratitude

It is with great sadness that I say goodbye to Dr. David Schnarch, an important professional mentor to me over the past 10 years. David died of a sudden heart attack last week. It has been devastating for his family, and so many of us, to lose a wise mentor in our lives.

Being grateful doesn't come naturally to most of us. While all of us have good things in our lives, very few of us receive the good around us. It takes courage to open our hearts and acknowledge what blesses us. Instead, many of us take refuge in entitlement. We pretend we are owed freedom from suffering. We pretend that challenges are aberrations in human experience. The reality is we all struggle and we all suffer. Not equally, of course. Injustice is a reality of life, and a sad one. But pretending we are owed a life free of pain keeps us blind to the goodness and abundance we enjoy. ...