Beneficiis, or On Benefits.

True connection doesn’t come from pretending our lives are perfect. True connection comes from reaching out to others during our greatest time of need.

journey.

But what made it worse this time was that I extolled the benefits of gratitude—the impact of compassion and appreciation all day long—when I couldn’t show myself the same courtesy. I had stopped believing in the magic.

the deep poverty of the soul that afflicts the wealthy—and that the poverty of the soul in America was deeper than any poverty she had seen anywhere else on Earth. I had architected a life of scarcity and competition, rather than one of joy and abundance, and found myself in the depths of soul poverty as a result. My friend Scott said that

To do that effectively, she helps people ask and answer the question, Is the person I’m interacting with trying to hurt me? Or do they actually mean well?

“I want to stand as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all kinds of things you can’t from the center.” – Kurt Vonnegut Author Kurt Vonnegut developed a theory about stories as part of his rejected master’s thesis in anthropology. He posited that stories have shapes, which can be drawn as graphs. Studying these re

sections on a regular basis. In each section, you’ll find Gratitude Inquiries—questions to help you identify and explore the impact of gratitude on your day-to-day life. Take five to ten minutes to answer these simple inquiries, and you’ll quickly see how gratitude has the power to transform every facet of your world.

Giving gratitude is the act of acknowledging that you’ve received some sort of benefit in your life from someone else. That acknowledgement reinforces the fact that you didn’t get here alone, and shifts the focus to the people who have helped you along the way.