Double Your Joy

The Benedective monk David Steindl-Rast has wise advise for bringing gratiude to any situation and creating more joy for yourself--and in the world.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to the Gratitude Diaries, a production of My Heart Radio.
Hi I'm Jannis Kaplan. Thanks for joining me for more
practical ideas on how to be happier. Today's tip if
you want to bring joy to the world this holiday,
do it with gratitude. In all the time I spend

(00:26):
researching gratitude and positivity, I've talked to a lot of
different experts, psychologists, neuroscientists, and Nobel Prize winners. But one
of the most eloquent speakers on gratitude who I've ever
heard is the Benedictine monk David Steindel Rost. You don't
have to be religious to believe in gratitude, though. Gratitude

(00:48):
is a part of just about every religion, and David
Steindel Ross actually speaks of gratitude in a very secular
and global way. He talks about gratitude is something we
do for ourselves, for each other, and to make the
world a better, more peaceful, and equitable place. David Steindel
Rost makes one of the most important points about gratitude ever,

(01:10):
when he talks about the connection between happiness and gratefulness.
He says that most of us believe that when you're happy,
you're grateful, But he says, think again. We all know
people who seem to have a lot, really everything they
could want, but they're not very happy. They always want
something more or something different. And then there were the

(01:32):
people who don't seem to have a lot, or have
suffered from bad events, and yet they seem to radiate happiness.
Steindel Ross says that the problem is we're thinking about
it backwards. He says, and here's the point. It's not
happiness that makes us grateful, it's gratefulness that makes us happy.

(01:56):
People who say that they're waiting for the right moment
to be grateful are missing the real chance to be happy.
When you bring the gratitude and appreciation to any situation,
you're happier because of that every day. David Steindel Ross
says that the greatest gift any of us have is
this very moment and all the opportunity it contains. People

(02:20):
often say that opportunity knocks only once, but he says,
opportunity knocks every moment, and it's up to you to
take the gift of that moment and turn it to happiness.
That sounds fine and pretty straightforward, but when things aren't
going well. When we're stressed, or even when we're just rushed,

(02:42):
it's hard to see each moment as an opportunity. Steindel
Ross has a solution for that too. If you want
to be happier this holiday and in the coming year,
he says, to treat life as you treat crossing the street.
Do what you tell your kids to do. At every
bit the corner, stop, look, and then go. You wouldn't

(03:06):
dash through an intersection without paying attention and expect everything
to be okay, So why do it with life in general?
Instead of moving fast and trying to get to the
next thing, truly stop once in a while, look around,
appreciate what's there, and only then move on. Many years ago,

(03:28):
I got a job as the editor in chief of
a magazine that at the time was hugely read. It
gave me a major platform where I could publish meaningful
and inspirational articles and even influence the national conversation. I
had a big corner office and my first day on
the job was crazy busy, with a lot of pressure

(03:48):
from the start. But as I was leaving that day,
or actually late that night, I stopped at the door.
As I went to flick off the office light. I
thought to myself, Elf, you have an amazing job. Now
you never imagine this, take a moment to appreciate it.
I stood there at the doorway for a really long time,

(04:10):
looking around my office and trying to take in the
moment and the full experience. I wanted to appreciate that
moment without any stress or fear. I remember that well,
and in part because I've had other times when I
didn't do that at all. Years ago, I wrote some
popular novels with my friend and co author Lynn. Our

(04:31):
publisher sent us on multi city tours around the country,
and we both remember going into one major bookstore We're
a huge poster of us was hanging from the double
height ceiling. Lynn and I were talking about that the
other day, and she said, why didn't we stop to
appreciate it. We never even took a picture. These days,

(04:53):
not taking a picture seems unbelievable, but her point was right.
We were so focused on selling books look good and
getting our speeches to be funny and clever that we
never stopped to say, hey, isn't this cool. We do
both have gratitude looking back, but if you appreciate the
moments at the time, you get double happiness. You have

(05:15):
the joy of the moment and the pleasure of the recollection.
We all need stop signs in our lives, something to
remind us to experience the moment and open all our
senses to it. Surely, a holiday like the one this
week is a perfect time to stop and listen, to
appreciate the moment and be grateful, and to imagine the

(05:37):
gratefulness we would like in future moments. David Steindel Ross
says that people are becoming more aware that a grateful
world is a happy world, and a grateful person a
happy one. So on this holiday week, stop in the
midst of the holiday baking, tree lighting, and gift wrapping
and just take a few moments to stop, list and

(06:00):
and be grateful. Take this holiday as an opportunity for
gratitude and a gift in itself. Thanks for joining me.
I'll be back with more ideas on how to add
gratitude to your life and make this holiday week a
little brighter. Have a great day. The Gratitude Diaries is
a production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from

(06:22):
i heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple
Podcasts or wherever you get your favorite shows,