Here's the question, as posed by Mary Baker Eddy in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures:
"Are we really grateful for the good already received?"Science and Health, p. 3 That question always gives me pause and makes me take stock of my thinking. It's the "already received" part that does this. The human mind so often gets itself focused on limitation—sidetracked into lamenting or pursuing something it thinks is missing. The problem with this kind of thinking is that it robs us of seeing and appreciating the good that is present—"the good already received."
Gratitude, on the other hand, engages our spiritual faculty for recognizing the presence of good. It's a window on all that's noble, beneficial, and worthy of appreciation in human experience, and it's the standpoint for seeing good multiplied in our lives. So, Mary Baker Eddy's gratitude question is a good one to ask ourselves, not just on a day that is set aside as Thanksgiving Day, as is celebrated in many countries, but every day.
