This is something that I also received in an email which I like very much.

Enjoy!

Walk In Dry Places — June 23
FEELING GRATITUDE
Self-Improvement

A mistaken view of gratitude is that we have a right to expect it from people we’ve helped. In reality, we benefit to the extent we are grateful.

The terms gratitude and grace are linked by a common root, the Latin word gratus, which means "pleasing" or "thankful." To feel grateful is to experience a state of grace. This immediately raises us to a higher level of personal dignity and well-being.

Why do we need to feel gratitude? One possible reason is that most compulsive illness, such as alcoholism and drug addiction, are intensely self-oriented. This selfishness destroys the soul and keeps us in a state of spiritual infancy and isolation with concurrent arrogance and anger. We cannot afford to live in this condition.

Feeling gratitude–even when we are in difficulty–can release us from bondage.

"Today I’ll go out of my way to feel gratitude, and I will express it to individuals. I know this is for my own good as well as the other person’s.

Hazelden Foundation