Love wholeheartedly, be surprised, give thanks and praise then you will discover the fullness of your life.

As we learn to give thanks for all of life and death, for all of this given world of ours, we find a deep joy. It is the joy of trust, the joy of faith in the faithfulness at the heart of all things. It is the joy of gratefulness in touch with the fullness of life.

What brings fulfillment is gratefulness, the simple response of our heart to this life in all its fullness.

One can learn to focus on "opportunity" as the gift within every given moment. This attitude towards life always improves the situation. Even in times of sickness, someone who habitually practices grateful living will look for the opportunity that a given moment offers and use it creatively.

"The Holy Spirit . . . wants to flow through us and realize all these wonderful possibilities in the world - if we only open ourselves and allow it to happen."

Only gratefulness, in the form of limitless openness for surprise, lays hold of the fullness of life in hope.

The root of joy is gratefulness...It is not joy that makes us grateful; it is gratitude that makes us joyful.