Practicing Gratitude

What’s better than to feel deep gratitude for the special people and places and things we love. Today, Bob shares the wise words of inspiring figures like Dr. Albert Schweitzer, the Persian poet Hafez, Khalil Gibran, among others—followed by one minute of quiet to give you the time to feel grateful for your own life. What a wonderful way to start our day on the right path.  

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Stay Calm is a production of I Heart Radio. Welcome
to Stay Calm, your daily dose of calmness. I'm Bob Roth,
and I've been teaching people to meditate for fifty years,
helping them to stay calm under pressure, reboot and re
energize their lives, and basically be a happier, healthier version

(00:22):
of themselves. And now I want to help you do
the same. Ready, sit comfortably, take a few deep breaths,
and let's begin today's journey. When eating fruit, remember the
one who planted the tree. This lovely ancient proverb from
Vietnam reminds us about something we already know, the importance

(00:45):
of feeling gratitude for the good people and the good
fortune in our lives, no matter how large or small.
We are living in uncertain and unsettling times, and to
survive and to thrive we do need calm, rngth, conviction, intelligence, resilience,
and I believe we need gratitude because no one does

(01:08):
this alone. Hopefully, there are in all of our lives
ordinary and extraordinary blessings that we must never fail to
appreciate and embrace. Maybe we have children or grandchildren, or
parents or grandparents or a beloved dog or cat who
need our love and attention, or we have a job

(01:28):
that demands our passion and persistence. Or perhaps we've had
people in our life in the past, or we have
them today for whom we are deeply grateful, people who
were there for us when times got tough, times when
we needed to talk to someone, and we're just hearing
their voice, just hearing the pure happiness in their hello

(01:49):
on the phone was enough to lift our spirits, as
I have done in the past. I want to share
with you some of my favorite words and poems from
people I admire so much about gratitude, about resilience, and
about the inner light of every human being. Albert Schweitzer

(02:10):
was an extraordinary human being, medical doctor and surgeon, author,
Man of the Cloth, and winner of the Nobel Peace
Prize in nineteen fifty two. I love his quote on gratitude.
I repeat it all the time. At times our own
light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from
another person. Each of us has cause to think with

(02:33):
deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.
One underlying message of gratitude is that we should appreciate
whatever gift comes our way, be it grand or modest.
Happiness comes from the acceptance. As the Buddhist proverb advises,
enough is a feast. When I grew up, my parents

(02:56):
used to tell me that the best way to give
is to give without any ex affectations of a thank
you in return. The Persian poet have Fees expresses this
joy in these few short words. Even after all this time,
the sun never says to the earth, you owe me.

(03:17):
Look what happens with a love like that? It lights
the whole sky. And finally, as we've always been told,
true happiness lies within, And the greatest gift we can
give to anyone is the gift we can give to ourselves,
the gift of a few minutes of time to access
the unbounded energy, power, joy, love, and wisdom that lies

(03:42):
deep within each of us, no matter our age, nationality, religion, race, gender,
or economic status. And the beauty of that inner is
that we can access it no matter how much chaos
and confusion surrounds us. And what is that inner like?
From psychiatrist Elizabeth Coobler Ross, who authored the seminal book

(04:07):
on Death and Dying, we learn people are like stained
glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out,
but when the darkness sets in, their beauty is only
revealed if there's a light from within. I like to
conclude my time with you with thirty seconds of gratitude.

(04:27):
Thirty seconds for you to appreciate someone or something of
deep value. But today, considering everything that's going on in
the world, let's take a full minute. It could be
the best one minute of your day. All right, thank

(05:42):
you for joining me today. I hope you heard something
that inspires, that uplifts you and that you can incorporate
into your own life. This is Bob Roth. Stay calm, hey,
all of you out there. I'd love to hear from you.
You can send me your stories, your questions, or anything

(06:02):
else on your mind. Just connect with me on Twitter,
Facebook or Instagram at meditation Bob. You can also send
me an email at meditation Bob Roth at gmail dot com.
I look forward to hearing from you.