The ripple effect of gratitude

A view of Long Lake in Harrison, Maine. (Gareth Henderson Photo)

When a stone gently skips across the surface of a lake, it sends ripples out over the water, well beyond the place of the original effect. Those ripples might even touch a distant shore, one you’d never expect it to reach. 

Thoughts of gratitude are that powerful, because their instant effect is to move thought outward, away from self, and toward universal good and mutually supported well being. In essence, gratitude heals, and it’s especially needed during difficult times. It might seem harder to be grateful in such moments, but that’s one of the best places thought can go. 

These days, a host of familiar challenges are front and center, whether around the pandemic, politics, or somewhere in between. Amid the uncertainty, however, these times have actually been ripe for gratitude, from precious instances of neighbor helping neighbor, to valuable lessons learned from challenges and triumphs. If we take a step back from the moment, and remember the good in our lives, it’s easy for each ripple of gratitude to spread, and lighten our consciousness. Instead of the burden of stress, we can more deeply feel the warmth of a grateful heart and profound, innate goodness. 

All this is possible during Thanksgiving Week 2021, every day, and in every moment. It was a special treat to find some beautiful proof of this in a series of gratitude stories from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. They reflect the healing impact of gratitude, and the very first line of the introduction really caught my eye: “A genuine and specific thank-you benefits the giver as much as the recipient.” 

What better way to go into the Thanksgiving holiday? Today, I’m grateful for all the wonderful expressions of good we get to witness in life, and those we get to share. The best part is, each of those ripples blesses ourselves and everyone around us, and the next opportunity to share love and gratitude is always right around the corner. We’re never separated from our brothers and sisters around the world; we’re part of one family every moment. And gratitude is a strong resource that sustains us, because the ripples of gratitude go far beyond its initial expression — they lead to an all-encompassing, healing goodness that uplifts us all.

— Gareth Henderson