Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American poet, lecturer, and essayist and a leading figure in the Transcendentalist movement in the mid-19th century. Transcendentalism emphasized the presence of the divine everywhere, not unlike Stoicism, and there are common themes between Emerson’s writing and Stoic philosophy. In his most renowned work, Self Reliance, Emerson proposed that Stoicism was timeless wisdom where the mind obtains enlightenment by its own means. Emerson was regarded as the “original American Stoic.” He wrote, “If you look for what is good and what you can be grateful for, you will find it everywhere.

Emerson dearly loved his first wife, Ellen. When she died just two years into his marriage, he was distraught and inconsolable. He walked five miles to her tomb every day and wrote to her in his journals. A year after her death, he opened the coffin to gaze upon his beloved. Emerson never explained why he did this. Some have speculated that he was afraid Ellen had become some kind of vampire, but I believe that in his grief he also wanted to express gratitude for their brief time together.

The modern Stoic William B. Irvine has made his gratitude for his wife a daily practice. At the North American Stoic Summit, he shared a story that I’ve carried with me ever since. He’s a professor emeritus of philosophy and prolific author, and while writing in his home office, he regularly pauses to call out to his wife, “Thank you for existing!” To which she dryly calls back, “You’re imagining I’m dead again, aren’t you?”

Kurt Vonnegut, the author and national treasure, observed that his Uncle Alex would verbally acknowledge the small beautiful moments in life with the remark, “If this isn’t nice, what is?” My son and I made a promise that we’d never miss a chance to admire the stars and planets that dance across the night sky. Even if we’re not together, even if we can’t see the stars, I’m grateful to know he’s looking up and that he knows I’m looking up. If that isn’t nice, what is? 

I’m thankful for things that are difficult, like books I struggle to understand. They test my comprehension and I come through a wee bit less daft than I was before. A tip of the hat to you, Ralph Waldo Emerson! Your writing is dense, but from you I learned to “Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.” 

Cicero proposed that “gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others,” (Plancius 33.80), and I find gratitude to be a valuable foundation of my philosophical practice. When Epictetus was asked, “Who is the rich man?” he answered, “The one who is content.” (Schwiegh 157). Isn’t this just another way of advising us to be grateful?

Gratitude is like a muscle: the more you use it, the stronger your gratitude and spiritual vigour. There is a lot to be grateful for, if you only look. Start with being grateful for yourself. The cup of tea you just got from a cafe? Be thankful for its warming deliciousness. Sky, stars, earth, all around you are occasions for gratitude. Be grateful for existing. 

Gratitude grows out of a conscious practice of being thankful, and it is sustained in habitual mindfulness. Nerves that fire together, wire together – when you do something over and over, you forge new habits, including gratitude.

It is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more that is poor. - Seneca, Moral Letters, 2. 

Living a life wired for gratitude keeps us connected to the beautiful mess of being part of humanity. Stoic gratitude deepens our interconnectedness, the beauty and pain of sharing membership in this orbiting lunatic asylum. It teaches us compassion, which in Latin means suffering together. 

Willie Nelson sang, “When I started counting my blessings my whole life turned around.” I’m grateful for Willie, and I enjoy listening to him as I walk the paths through the woods around my farm. From Cicero to Emerson, Epictetus to Vonnegut, Seneca to William Irvine to Willie Nelson – these radiant minds cover two millennia of gratitude. No matter who you are, no matter what you do – no matter what path you walk – a modern Stoic finds that gratitude is a guide and companion.

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