Table of Contents

Introduction: Proverbs as Words of Gratitude by Brother David Steindl-Rast / 3

What Is Gratitude? / 15

Gratitude through the Ages / 25

Cultivating Gratitude / 41

Research and Results of Gratitude / 61

Hindrances to Gratitude / 71

Praying for Gratitude / 77

References and Further Reading / 101

Acknowledgements / 105

About the Author

Robert A. Emmons, PhD, is professor of psychology at the University of California, Davis, where he has taught for the past thirteen years. In his research, he explores how religiousness and spirituality may reflect core aspects of identity and how these aspects of self are involved in well-being and personality. He is the author of over sixty research articles and book chapters. His most recent book is the Psychology of Ultimate Concerns: Motivation and Spirituality in Personality.

Joanna Hill received her MA in religious studies from the Academy of the New Church Theological School in Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, where she currently resides.