Most people spend a significant percentage of their lives engaged in some form of employment or vocation. To varying degrees, and for better and worse, our work in the world is something that we “have” to do, and it defines us and shapes our lives. Whether we are in leadership positions, work “for” others, or are self-employed, our work is a central commitment which influences how we respond to all of life. Sometimes, if we are really fortunate, we love our work. Yet, still, many of us are accustomed to checking our values and vulnerabilities at the workplace door. We relegate our efforts to live in alignment with our deepest values and commitments  to the few hours and relationships when we are not working. This can leave gratefulness lacking for most of the waking hours of our lives.

Grateful Living practices offer ways to connect our deep values with our work, and with those with whom we work. We can actively advance and nourish our own commitments through exploring how gratefulness establishes its relevance through the portal of our employment. How can we lead in new ways? How can we respond with equanimity fueled by gratitude? How can we model that which we most deeply believe in? How can our work lives fill us up to the brim with what we need from life and offer us a meaningful terrain for our personal and professional actualization? Grateful living wants to be an answer…