“Grateful living is fundamentally grounded in the invitation to see life itself as a gift: an unexpected gift that you did not need to do anything to earn or deserve, but is coming to you — wrapped in a wide range of packaging. In every moment that you are alive, this life has been given to you.” — Kristi Nelson, author of Wake Up Grateful

If you are receiving this email, you understand both the importance of making gratitude an active part of your life and how hard it can be to do this consistently.

Something I find helpful in my own gratitude practice are the Five Guiding Principles inspired by gratefulness.org founder Brother David Steindl-Rast.

Here is how Kristi Nelson, executive director of gratefulness.org, describes these principles in her book Wake Up Grateful:

1. Life Is a Gift

“Grateful living is fundamentally grounded in the invitation to see life itself as a gift: an unexpected gift that you did not need to do anything to earn or deserve, but is coming to you — wrapped in a wide range of packaging. In every moment that you are alive, this life has been given to you.”

2. Everything Is Surprise

“When you regard life as an unexpected gift and one you are lucky to have renewed itself each day, it can shift your experience of expectation. You can behold life with the openness of experiencing things as if for the very first, or the very last, time.”

3. The Ordinary Is Extraordinary

“One of the most accessible and direct pathways to a sense of abundance ... is to savor and celebrate the ordinary. How can you experience the generosity of your life more vividly and more consistently?”

4. Appreciation Is Generative

“Appreciation brings about a shift from passively to actively engaging with life. We recognize that we have choices when it comes to orienting our attention.”

5. Love Is Transformative

“Love lives deeply rooted within each of us, protected from the comings and goings of people and circumstances. It simply exists as a force within us and around us... Whenever we nurture and tend the things we value, that is love in action.”

What I love about these principles is how each one gets to the root of living gratefully, and how succinctly they pull together the foundations of grateful living.

At Holstee, we have been fans of the gratefulness.org team for a long time — they speak with their hearts and minds to values we firmly believe in. This past year, we’ve been working closely with them to bring the power of gratefulness more within reach through our latest collaboration: Gratitude Cards. They are still in development, but you can get a sneak peek at them here!

More than any other virtue, gratitude has profoundly shifted my perspective and outlook the past few years. I'm thrilled to have been able to work with gratefulness.org on this new tool. I can’t wait for you to experience it.

Grateful for you,

Mike Radparvar

Co-Founder, Holstee & Reflection.app