290 Global Ethics for Leadership
23.2 What is Gratitude?
23.2.1 A Strong Positive Feeling
Gratitude is always preceded by a positive feeling, about something
we have received, something that has been given to us, something we
can feel and be delighted about - a tangible or intangible gift, for which
we are grateful.
Gratitude has many forms: gratitude for the life, talents and potential
we have been given. Gratitude for a difficult situation that has changed
for the better. We are grateful if we are healthy or have regained health,
grateful when things go well in our surroundings and for our children
and close family members. Even a woman who has recently lost her
husband through cancer can feel gratitude that death has spared him
from many years of suffering. Even good friends can be grateful for
social contacts, or just for being able to be people among people. We are
touched by the images of the misery of refugees and the suffering of
many people fleeing from war zones. At the same time we are grateful
that we can live in a safe country, that we are part of a society that cares
for its weak members, and that we do not have to go without anything.
Gratitude is a strong, positive feeling. According to Marcus Tullius
Cicero, gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the mother of
them all. Does gratitude therefore make us better people? I think grati-
tude certainly leads to action and thought that is deliberate, empathetic
and directed to one’s neighbour, that we care for one another and are
there for one another. In Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, Jewish and Hindu
tradition gratitude is described as a central message, worship and grati-
tude to the Divine.
23.2.2 Gratitude in My Personal Life
A key experience about gratitude was during my adolescence. I had
suffered from eczema, chronic eczema, since I was two years old. It was
particularly bad for me during my adolescence and I did not just hide my