Burbank Library celebrates "Party of 100 Thanks" - Burbank Leader

Check this out for photos from this last Saturday's Burbank READs finale - the Burbank Library celebrates "Party of 100 Thanks" - Burbank Leader

I am grateful for ....

As part of Burbank READs "On Gratitude" there are a few ways that you too can express what you are grateful for.  Donate cans or boxes of food at your Burbank Library.  Write a letter to a member of our military services that will be sent on through Operation Gratitude.  Write a gratitude list and leave it to be posted on our Gratitude trees or keep an eye out for our roving cameraperson and you could be a part of our next video post!

Now It's Your Turn!

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.

– William Arthur Ward.

Between September 21 and October 29, here are some ways to share your attitude of gratitude:

• After you’ve read On Gratitude, be sure to encourage your friends and family to read the book.
• What are YOU grateful for? Help us cre-ate THE WORLD’S LARGEST GRATITUDE LIST! Submit a Gratitude List at any of the Burbank Libraries or online at http://www.burbanklibrary.com/  or http://www.thegratitudelist.org/  We will share it, then add it to our list. Let’s Circle the City with Gratitude!
• Write a letter to a member of the United States military deployed overseas or to a Wounded Warrior. Pick up a flyer describing the program and writing paper at the Burbank Public Library. Turn in all letters or artwork to the Library and they will be sent to Operation Gratitude. Letters are needed for the 100,000+ care packages Operation Gratitude sends to deployed troops each year.
• Send a postcard or greeting card to a friend or family member to let them know how grateful you are to have them in your life.
• Share your gratitude with those less fortunate in our community. Pick up an extra can or package of food next time you shop. During Burbank READS, the Library will collect food items for Burbank Temporary Aid Center (BTAC), Salvation Army, and Family Services Agency. Collection bins will be available at all locations of the Burbank Public Library.

How to Write a Gratitude List

Are you ready to start your own gratitude list?

Here is a simple how-to for grateful people of all ages.

Science has proven that keeping a gratitude list—even if its only three things daily—creates healthier, happier people. Gratitude’s not only good; it’s good for you! You don’t have to be rich or fa-mous for gratitude to matter. It’s important to count your blessings, and to share them with others, no matter your station in life, no matter how young or old you are.

Don’t know where to start with gratitude? That’s easy. Start with your heartbeat or with your breath. Those are things we take for granted, but without them we are nothing. Think about your friends, your family, an amazing memory all of your senses: the things you see, hear, smell taste, and touch. Your favorite foods and flavors. A book or a song that opened your heart or changed your life.

Be open to it all. Write it down without judgment. There are no wrong answers here. Just write down your memory. (Gratitude, it is said, is the memory of the heart). Be complete. Write the entire feeling or memory. One of the wonderful things about your gratitude is it introduces others to new things.

Do it today. Then do it again tomorrow. It takes such a short time, but the results are powerful.

Still feeling stuck? Try answering these questions to get your heart moving and your brain feeling:

• Who gave you life?
• What flavors do you love?
• What film or book or song changed your life?
• That perfect day…? The best gift you’ve ever received?
• Your favorite teacher/mentor, and why?
• The most amazing moment from your favorite vacation?
• The moment when you realized you were more powerful or capable than you thought.
• The moment when you felt smaller than you were, but were elevated by faith or friendship.
• The smallest, most trivial thing for which you are grateful.

Share your gratitude list with the Burbank Public Library. We’ll display it… measure it… and let the world know that Burbank is the Most Grateful City in America!

You can find hundreds of gratitude lists at http://www.thegratitudelist.org/