IN RECENT MONTHS, WHAT ARE USUALLY called natural disasters have challenged war zones for a share of the headlines. People have also been simply dealing with frustratingly bad weather. But whether or not conditions are life-threatening, there's been no escaping the fact that fires, floods, earthquakes, landslides, and drought have taken a heavy toll on people's spirits—and lives.

On a frigid afternoon that marked the height of a huge January snowstorm in the American Northeast, the Sentinel talked with two weather-beaten people who would have had good reason to succumb to self-pity, but chose a different path.

One was a woman who was living temporarily in one unheated room without proper kitchen or bathroom facilities. It was too cold to sleep comfortably, and she wasn't feeling well. Nevertheless she said, "I just have so much to be grateful for. I keep thinking about all the friends who have helped me in practical ways during this time, and about the tireless workers out there who are maintaining essential services. I think of abundance, not lack."

The other person was a father of two who found that a frozen pipe had burst in the basement, flooding their new carpets and storage areas. After his fourth trip to the dump to dispose of wet toys, documents, and heirlooms, the man said calmly, "You've got to look at the big picture. In the whole scheme of things, what happened to us is not much more than an inconvenience. We still have family, health, love. That's the real stuff."

Another perspective came from his five-year-old daughter, who looked out the window as he spoke and thought only of the beautiful, fluffy wings the deep accumlation would give to the snow angels she and her sister would make. Her thoughts had already soared way out of the basement.

Gratitude. That's what these people had in common. It's something that has long been an integral part of the lives of thinking, praying people, even when they are in life-threatening situations. And for good reason. Gratitude is a healing agent. It's effective because it magnifies the power of God, a power that can forestall even "natural" catastrophes.

Why? Because gratitude shifts human thought to a higher plane, where it is much easier to abandon a merely physical view of one's surroundings and to experience the invulnerable, indestructible perfection of God's creation. Gratitude to God, the source of all goodness, helps us see the riches He has given to each of us—to appreciate them. And then to make effective use of them.

Early on in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, a challenge comes to the reader: "Are we really grateful for the good already received? Then we shall avail ourselves of the blessings we have, and thus be fitted to receive more" (Mary Baker Eddy, p. 3). And our experience has been that people of many faiths, particularly those based on the Bible, regularly begin to pray by giving thanks for the many ways that God, who is Love itself, is expressed in their lives—sometimes in the form of a much-needed supply of heat, food, transport, dry clothes, helping hands, and so on.

Gratitude points to a brighter future. It helps us prioritize what's really important in our lives. It calls for action. For example, the Apostle Paul called on the people of Thessalonica to "hold fast" to all that is good, keep rejoicing, "pray without ceasing," and "in every thing give thanks" (see I Thess., chap. 5).

People who pray effectively don't simply pretend that nothing is wrong. But their thankfulness tends to break the focus on the dark side of situations—and to open their eyes to the joy and well-being that are never at the mercy of circumstances. By the same token, the fact that a multitude of spiritual qualities like joy are always present is just one of many reasons we can always be truly grateful.

Storms—both literal and figurative—impose hardship and inconvenience on all lives. But right in the midst of them, an attitude of gratitude works to clarify people's view of reality, to define what's really worth attention. Provided it is genuine and God-based, gratitude can't help but reveal that, right in the middle of the storm, good is already prominent in our lives. This is why cultivating the habit of sincere thankfulness is one of the most enriching things a person can do.