Seasons of Grace: The Life-Giving Practice of Gratitude [Hardcover]

Alan Jones (Author), John O'Neil (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0471208329 | ISBN-13: 978-0471208327 | Publication Date: January 1, 2003 | Edition: 1

Praise for Seasons of Grace

"In this beautifully written book, Alan Jones and John O'Neil deliver a timely antidote to the stressed-out, spiritually barren lives that too many of us accept as the price of success. This is a book that may both comfort and challenge you to change your life and the world for the better."
-Dean Ornish, M.D., author of Dr. Dean Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease and Love & Survival

"I love this book. It is packed with inspirational stories from the lives of the authors and their friends that illustrate how feelings of gratitude for even the smallest gifts and kindnesses and joys help us to live each day to the full. Reading Seasons of Grace will help you to cope with the hard times, to find the silver linings. It is a splendid, joyous, and enriching recipe for life."
-Jane Goodall, author of Reason for Hope and The Ten Trusts

"Most people are grateful because they're happy; wise people are happy because they're grateful. Thank you, Alan Jones and John O'Neil, for reminding us of this happy fact."
-Roger Walsh, M.D., Ph.D., author of Essential Spirituality: The 7 Central Practices to Awaken Heart and Mind

"As gentle as it is wise, Seasons of Grace shows us everyday life as a joyous spiritual art: the art of receiving, day by day, the life we are given-every last bit of it."
-Jacob Needleman, author of The American Soul

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Gratitude, Cicero observed, is more than just a virtue; it is the parent of all the other virtues. In Seasons of Grace: The Life-Giving Practice of Gratitude, Alan Jones and John O'Neil explore the spiritual practice of gratitude, which can be expressed in acts as simple as writing a thank-you note, cleaning the house or meditating in the garden. Although the authors do not draw explicitly on Naikan Buddhism, their approach is astoundingly similar to Naikan, which emphasizes gratitude as the key to compassionate living. The book is beautifully organized into sections around the four seasons: spring is a time to appreciate the gift of a renewed creation; summer a season of frolicking in nature and enjoying some rest; autumn a contemplative period of introspection; and winter an interval of gathering with loved ones. Each chapter closes with "gratitude practices," offering concrete ideas of ways to cultivate and express gratitude.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Gratitude, Cicero observed, is more than just a virtue; it is the parent of all the other virtues.  In Seasons of Grace: The Life-giving Practice of Gratitude, Alan Jones and John O’Neil explore the spiritual practice of gratitude, which can be expressed in acts as simple as writing a thank-you note, cleaning the house or meditating in the garden.  Although the authors do not draw explicitly on Naikan Buddhism, their approach is astoundingly similar to Naikan, which emphasizes gratitude as the key to compassionate living.  The book is beautifully organized into sections around the four seasons: spring is a time to appreciate the gift of a renewed creation; summer a season of frolicking in nature and enjoying some rest; autumn a contemplative period of introspection; and winter an interval of gathering with loved ones.  Each chapter closes with “gratitude practices,” offering concrete ideas of ways to cultivate and express gratitude.  (Publishers Weekly, January 27, 2003)

"What do you say?"
"Thank you."
Maybe it's because we're always reminding our children to say it, or because our parents kept reminding us to say it, but we rarely stop and think about those two little words we use all the time.
Thank you.
Don't just say it. Feel it. Try this. Close your eyes. Sit up straight. Take deep breath. As you exhale think . . . thank you.
Do it again, please.
Thank you.
Who were you thanking? God? The Universe? Yourself? No one in particular? It doesn't really matter. It feels good no matter who you're thanking -- especially when it's for nothing, or everything.
"Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others."
Cicero said that and so do the Rev. Alan Jones, the dean of Grace Cathedral, and John O'Neil, the president of the Center for Leadership Renewel, in a simple and wise new book called "Seasons of Grace -- The Life-Giving Practice of Gratitude". (SF Chronicle, January 26, 2003)

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 253 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (January 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471208329
• ISBN-13: 978-0471208327
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #432,548 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book can change your life, January 4, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Seasons of Grace: The Life-Giving Practice of Gratitude (Hardcover)

I don't know about you, but I've been pretty cynical the last couple of years. Watching TV has become almost intolerable. The economy ..., world peace seems like a ridiculously impossible dream, and the environment is paying the price of the money-mongers in charge of most governments. This book helped me see the rainbow in the middle of the storm. SEASONS OF GRACE showed me how that just being alive is a miraculous gift. Being grateful does not mean just sitting back and taking whatever those "in charge" will try to fob off on us -- it means being mindful and practicing gratitude for the gifts we have been given, while we mobilize to change the world for the better. Money-mongers, watch out.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hope and Light in a Dark Time, February 28, 2003

By 

Thomas Doorley "TD" (Wellesley Hills, MA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Seasons of Grace: The Life-Giving Practice of Gratitude (Hardcover)

In the midst of a non-stop barrage of fearfull news, and tragedy upon tragedy, it is most helpful to be able to refresh one's spirit, one's soul. This book provides a soul-restoring breather and more. With its live examples, and helpful instructions about how to find reasons for gratitude, and how to share, I feel calmer, with a renewed sense of optimism. This is no preachy text. Yet clearly it is inspired by a pair of lives lived with a strong sense of the eternal. I find comfort and guidance in their stories and lessons.

Now, my task is to try to limit the number of friends to whom I will send the book. So many of us need the encouragement, need the sense of wonder that courses through this work. I am grateful for its appearance in my hands, for its messages in my life.

Read, enjoy, follow...