Diana, after years of reading your books, but resisting "Grateful," I have finally decided to read it. And I'm really psyched to read it after reading your many essays on gratefulness over the years - but this is the one pushed me over the edge. :)
As long as Trump characters are around, your book will be a necessary insight.
I attended a book tour talk for “Grateful” years ago. Two years before your tour, I left my job and lifelong membership at a church down the street from where you were speaking. I left church because I couldn’t stomach the culture of leadership there.
Your talk perfectly described our church’s culture. I was relating the talk to one particular leader in the church who had made my life there so incredibly challenging including letters and lunch meetings of threats for me to be loyal and grateful.
That evening you brought up a Bible parable that spoke to my church situation. During Q and A following your talk, a woman seated rows ahead of me stood to ask a question challenging your take on the parable. I couldn’t wait for your response because her question exactly represented what our church leadership would have believed. Your response to her felt as if Jesus was defending specifically me against my church leader’s attacks. I was smiling so big. I felt so loved and cared for by God. The session ended. The audience stood to leave and I saw that the woman challenging your parable explanation was THE woman leader from my ex-church. You had become what felt like God’s voice correcting her and I was there to hear it.
I stood in line to have you sign your book for me but I didn’t tell you this story because I was so overwhelmed. You mentioned that my smile stood out in the back row of the church. I did tell you I had left my church and you had become my pastor from afar through then Twitter. You responded to my confession by clutching your gut. Your compassion to my situation also ministered to me.
Thank you Diana.
Sorry it took me so long to thank you for being so very special to me. ❤️
Gratitude, Gift and Grace are very closely related. They each have nuances, depending upon context, but they remain together. Graciousness. My reply to Vance and Trump: What I am grateful for I want for everyone. So I will stand up for everyone out of gratitude for what I have been given. The former does not preclude the latter, but demands it.
Have you ever heard Trump express gratitude? He is grateful for nothing. In his mind everything he has is owed to him. I've also never seen him (or any of his thugs) express joy. There is an absence of laughter and fun, unless it comes at the expense of someone else. I think that's why Kamala's laughter drives them nuts. She expressed joy, and has the ability to laugh at herself. Those are foreign concepts in Trump world.
So true! I believe that a big part of the enthusiasm we have seen since Kamala started running is the opportunity to focus on someone who is positive and, in many ways, joyful. She is talking about how we can work together to make this country a better place. joe Biden is also positive, but the last few weeks were bogged down by calls for him to withdraw. It was such a relief when Kamala became the presumptive nominee.
This is a scary analysis of a would-be dictator's world view. Scary because it rings true. I've seen middle layers of the power pyramid use gratitude as a cudgel--shaming those below them, e.g. "Don't say anything to me--You should be grateful" (just to get crumbs). Diana's picture of the one at the top demanding tribute and making slaves of everyone couldn't be more awful. We can't let our society devolve further into that old Roman model.
Brilliant and so very appropriate for us all to see clearly the manipulations of distortions! The insidious nature of corruption is that if done with an intentional flip of values, the lie appears like truth luring people into allegiance.
Such a wonderful explication of gratitude as a debt to be repaid, versus gratefulness as a way of life, liberty, honesty and freedom. Thank you, Diana. I've always been grateful that Scripture says, "IN all things be thankful. . .not FOR all things be thankful". I can be thankful IN all things because I know that being thankful IN all things clears my heart, mind and spirit to see reality as it is, and to deal with it in the wisest way I can. Or to discern which things are beyond my control and must be surrendered to God.
Thank you, Diana, for this essay. It was liberating for me to say the least since I had never thought about that "twist" to gratitude, but you are right on and you've given me new perspective and greater depth in my understanding of gratitude on a political string. Blessings....eyswain
Count me in! No effing way am I grateful for what I know is coming our way, has always been in this yet-to-be United Stares..
Right this moment I am trapped in my neighborhood because Trump is heading to Bojangles Coliseum (my neighborhood here in Charlotte) today….he would be on stage till 6:00 pm. His followers have been here since 3:00 am. Am I grateful for the money they will leave in my friends’ restaurants and coffee houses till they leave? Yes!!!
I love that you've pointed this out, because I remember seeing Trump talking about gratitude in that way, and as a Brit accustomed to reading of Ye Olde British politicians xenophobically trumpeting the delights of Empire and of "civilizing the barbarians", I could hear, very clearly in his words, "STOP ASKING QUESTIONS OF YOUR BETTERS, YOU SHOULD JUST OBEY ME UNQUESTIONINGLY".
When you're demanding incuriosity, you clearly have something to hide. Democracy is always founded on a bed of boldly asked, transparently answered questions, surely?
Thank you for your insights! I’ve never thought about democracy in terms of gratitude: “a subversive practice of thankfulness that demolishes boundaries between people and establishes a community of solidarity around a table of God’s gifts.” Much to ponder.
Diana, after years of reading your books, but resisting "Grateful," I have finally decided to read it. And I'm really psyched to read it after reading your many essays on gratefulness over the years - but this is the one pushed me over the edge. :)
As long as Trump characters are around, your book will be a necessary insight.
I attended a book tour talk for “Grateful” years ago. Two years before your tour, I left my job and lifelong membership at a church down the street from where you were speaking. I left church because I couldn’t stomach the culture of leadership there.
Your talk perfectly described our church’s culture. I was relating the talk to one particular leader in the church who had made my life there so incredibly challenging including letters and lunch meetings of threats for me to be loyal and grateful.
That evening you brought up a Bible parable that spoke to my church situation. During Q and A following your talk, a woman seated rows ahead of me stood to ask a question challenging your take on the parable. I couldn’t wait for your response because her question exactly represented what our church leadership would have believed. Your response to her felt as if Jesus was defending specifically me against my church leader’s attacks. I was smiling so big. I felt so loved and cared for by God. The session ended. The audience stood to leave and I saw that the woman challenging your parable explanation was THE woman leader from my ex-church. You had become what felt like God’s voice correcting her and I was there to hear it.
I stood in line to have you sign your book for me but I didn’t tell you this story because I was so overwhelmed. You mentioned that my smile stood out in the back row of the church. I did tell you I had left my church and you had become my pastor from afar through then Twitter. You responded to my confession by clutching your gut. Your compassion to my situation also ministered to me.
Thank you Diana.
Sorry it took me so long to thank you for being so very special to me. ❤️
Oh my! Thank you for sharing this with me!
Powerful words. It's a fresh interpretation of Trump that is very illuminating.
Gratitude, Gift and Grace are very closely related. They each have nuances, depending upon context, but they remain together. Graciousness. My reply to Vance and Trump: What I am grateful for I want for everyone. So I will stand up for everyone out of gratitude for what I have been given. The former does not preclude the latter, but demands it.
Have you ever heard Trump express gratitude? He is grateful for nothing. In his mind everything he has is owed to him. I've also never seen him (or any of his thugs) express joy. There is an absence of laughter and fun, unless it comes at the expense of someone else. I think that's why Kamala's laughter drives them nuts. She expressed joy, and has the ability to laugh at herself. Those are foreign concepts in Trump world.
So true! I believe that a big part of the enthusiasm we have seen since Kamala started running is the opportunity to focus on someone who is positive and, in many ways, joyful. She is talking about how we can work together to make this country a better place. joe Biden is also positive, but the last few weeks were bogged down by calls for him to withdraw. It was such a relief when Kamala became the presumptive nominee.
Diana, you nailed this one.
Anything given in expectation of a return in kind is not a gift. It is a barter.
This is a scary analysis of a would-be dictator's world view. Scary because it rings true. I've seen middle layers of the power pyramid use gratitude as a cudgel--shaming those below them, e.g. "Don't say anything to me--You should be grateful" (just to get crumbs). Diana's picture of the one at the top demanding tribute and making slaves of everyone couldn't be more awful. We can't let our society devolve further into that old Roman model.
Diana I hope you watched Biden’s speech - I know you did 😊 So much gratitude - the real kind. It was beautiful
I did! It was very moving. And a great example of the political contrast I made here. ❤️
Wow. As is often the case, you articulate what I feel in my gut.
Brilliant and so very appropriate for us all to see clearly the manipulations of distortions! The insidious nature of corruption is that if done with an intentional flip of values, the lie appears like truth luring people into allegiance.
Such a wonderful explication of gratitude as a debt to be repaid, versus gratefulness as a way of life, liberty, honesty and freedom. Thank you, Diana. I've always been grateful that Scripture says, "IN all things be thankful. . .not FOR all things be thankful". I can be thankful IN all things because I know that being thankful IN all things clears my heart, mind and spirit to see reality as it is, and to deal with it in the wisest way I can. Or to discern which things are beyond my control and must be surrendered to God.
Thank you, Diana, for this essay. It was liberating for me to say the least since I had never thought about that "twist" to gratitude, but you are right on and you've given me new perspective and greater depth in my understanding of gratitude on a political string. Blessings....eyswain
Count me in! No effing way am I grateful for what I know is coming our way, has always been in this yet-to-be United Stares..
Right this moment I am trapped in my neighborhood because Trump is heading to Bojangles Coliseum (my neighborhood here in Charlotte) today….he would be on stage till 6:00 pm. His followers have been here since 3:00 am. Am I grateful for the money they will leave in my friends’ restaurants and coffee houses till they leave? Yes!!!
I love that you've pointed this out, because I remember seeing Trump talking about gratitude in that way, and as a Brit accustomed to reading of Ye Olde British politicians xenophobically trumpeting the delights of Empire and of "civilizing the barbarians", I could hear, very clearly in his words, "STOP ASKING QUESTIONS OF YOUR BETTERS, YOU SHOULD JUST OBEY ME UNQUESTIONINGLY".
When you're demanding incuriosity, you clearly have something to hide. Democracy is always founded on a bed of boldly asked, transparently answered questions, surely?
Thank you for your insights! I’ve never thought about democracy in terms of gratitude: “a subversive practice of thankfulness that demolishes boundaries between people and establishes a community of solidarity around a table of God’s gifts.” Much to ponder.