So you think this is just another day in your life? It’s not just another day. It is the one day that is given to you…today.

-Br. David Steindl-Rast

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8 Reasons the World Needs A Grateful Day

  1. It’s needed. People around the globe report increasing levels of stress. Studies show that not only does being grateful feel good and promote pro-social behavior, it is also good for our hearts, our relationships, our sleep and it reduces stress. Gratefulness is an antidote to the woes of the world.
  2. It’s quick. At just 5-minutes long, this video is a brief but effective tonic.
  3. It’s soothing. This short video stops us in our tracks and calms our nervous systems with gentle music and the voice of Benedictine monk, Br. David Steindl-Rast. It offers a gentle reminder to look around and notice the everyday gifts of our lives.
    More reasons…

Practices and Questions for A Grateful Day

In considering tools for living gratefully, we have created a set of practices and questions to accompany and enrich your experience of A Grateful Day. We encourage you to watch the video, try these practices and reflect on the questions on your own, with family and friends or in a Grateful Gatherings group.
Discover the practices and questions…

More About A Grateful Day

In 2006, some friends arranged to have Br. David Steindl-Rast record a short meditation about gratefulness…the words that Br. David spontaneously offered that day were an exquisite outpouring of his heart. Read more… 

Video Transcript

You think this is just

another day in your life?

It’s not just another day.

It’s the one day

that is given to you today.

It’s a gift.

It’s the only gift

that you have right now,

and the only

appropriate response

is gratefulness.

If you learn to respond

as if it were the first day

in your life

and the very last day,

then you will have spent

this day very well.

Begin by opening your eyes

and be surprised

that you have eyes you can open.

 That incredible array of colors

that is constantly offered to us

for pure enjoyment.

Look at the sky.

We so rarely look at the sky.

We so rarely note

how different it is

from moment to moment

with clouds coming and going.

Open your eyes.

Look at that.

Look at the faces of people

whom you meet.

Each one has an incredible story

behind their face,

not only their own story,

but the story

of their ancestors.

All that life from generations

and from so many places

all over the world

flows together

and meets you here

like a life-giving water

if you only open your heart

and drink.

Open your heart

to the incredible gifts 

that civilization gives to us.

You flip a switch,

and there is electric light.

You turn a faucet,

and there is warm water

and cold water,

and drinkable water. 

It’s a gift that millions

and millions

in the world

will never experience.

And so I wish you

that you would open 

your heart

to all these blessings

and let them flow through you,

that everyone

whom you will meet on this day

will be blessed by you,

just by your presence.

 Let the gratefulness overflow

 into blessing all around you.

 And then it will really be

a good day.