Staff Picks

A collection of favorite resources – both old and new – handpicked by the Gratefulness staff for your perusal. This page will be refreshed 2 – 3 times per month with “gems” which have particularly moved, touched, or engaged us…

The U.S. Surgeon General Wants To Bring You Health Via Happiness
“Happiness” is not an emotion, an inherited disposition that is awarded to a select few, or even dependent on events that happen to you in life. Rather, Murthy argues that happiness is a perspective, and that everyone can create it for themselves with four simple, free approaches: gratitude exercises, meditation, physical activity and social connectedness…

The Silent Friends
(August 2015) The Silent Friends is a film about trees, and how they possess the virtues we seek in those close to us. The documentary, a trip through tree scenes in the Spanish landscape, wishes to show that every tree plays a vital role, and that the uniqueness of each is, in fact, universal. All just as important, so long as they are respected and loved, and we are aware of their presence. Just like a friend.

Stories with a Purpose: Interview with Cancer Survivor, Kristi Nelson
Kristi Nelson, stage IV cancer survivor and executive director of A Network for Grateful Living, speaks to Jim Skinner of “Stories with a Purpose” and “Smart Patient” about her cancer journey, being mindful, and the power of grateful living to help us live fully no matter our prognosis or circumstances.

How to Give your Kids Everything But a Sense of Entitlement
(Quartz, January 2014) “My parents simply didn’t have material things to give me so I learned to be thankful for the little we had. So by giving my kids what I never had—toys, snow boots, fashionable jeans—would they be destined to become ungrateful?” Jenn Choi explores this question and comes to some interesting conclusions.

John Lloyd on Knowledge: Above All, Be Kind
(November, 2014) The remarkable mind that brought you QI, Blackadder and Spitting Image asks one of the world’s simplest but most significant questions – what do we really need to know? What should we teach our children, and what important information should all adults have at their disposal? Legendary producer John Lloyd turns his curiosity to knowledge itself, and questions whether intelligence is really all it’s cracked up to be.

Thandie Newton: Embracing Otherness, Embracing Myself
(July, 2011) Actor Thandie Newton tells her story of “otherness” and “oneness” — first, as a child growing up in two distinct cultures, and then as an actor playing with many different selves, and settling into a knowing about her belonging. A warm, wise, moving talk to which many of us can deeply relate.

Send Cards for the Holidays
Share your love, best wishes, and gratitude with
special eCards this Holiday Season…

We hope you enjoyed these resources. To discover more, visit our complete Library of Resources or dip into Gratefulness in Daily Life.