Most of us will not be sent to be caught with our trunks down in a Florida porn-house or be sent to prison for repeated parole violations, nor will we adopt Malawian orphans or donate millions to rebuilding schools in earthquake-ravaged Haiti. These are the things movie stars do, and we need them to.

If pop culture is our religion, and it may be, then Jolie and Cruise and Stiller are our angels and, you know, other celebrities are our devils. Sir Philip Sidney said the purpose of entertainment is “to instruct and delight,” and so we – we in the media, and we the consumers of said media – labor vigorously to construct the morality tales our lives and times demand. Its simple stuff, really. Science has robbed the heavens of mystery, but it can never really fully explain the appeal of celebrities – even if the laws of symmetry have revealed why the entire world fell in love with Audrey Hepburn’s face. We look to the stories of celebrity lives to make sense of our own, and/or to gauge our relative successes and failures.

Like you, I’ve been told a lot of stories, and some of them have even been true. Some of them have been good and true, which is a rare, alchemical occurrence. One of the great privileges of working as an entertainment journalist since I was 12 (thanks to Sydney Pollack and Ron Howard for taking a chance on the kid with the cowlick, retainer, and the Huffy bicycle) is sharing time with superstars of the silver screen, the sports arena, the pop charts, and the printed page. And one of the great blessings is finding those transcendent moments where interviews become more than commercial transactions (them selling a movie or a book, me selling ad pages and subscriptions) and discovering actual, human-to-human conversations.

Shortly before his death, Last Exit to Brooklyn author Hubert Selby, Jr. spoke at length with me about the horrific narrative that was his life – heroin addiction, incarceration, unfathomable loss, near-death experiences. Toward the end of our day together, the frail, but good-spirited Selby provided a powder-keg volta: living life with an attitude of gratitude, every nightmare felt like a blessing to him. He was a very grateful man, and it got me thinking about how I could live more gratefully in my own life, even when the wheels were falling off the wagon – which, of course, they do.

Galvanized, and with the backing of some visionary colleagues, I investigated this whole concept of gratitude like a bloodhound in a butcher shop, and learned all the science (yes, those who maintain weekly gratitude lists are significantly happier and healthier than those who do not, just ask Dr. Robert A. Emmons of UC Davis, working at the vanguard of the positive psychology movement). I also found my interviews were getting better — that celebrities were really opening their hearts and minds. Conditioned by years of being hunted for salacious soundbites and crosshair snapshots, they were actually deeply grateful for being treated like human beings. Hollywood may be Oz, but those who walk the yellow brick road already have their hearts and brains and courage. (Most of them do, anyway).

So I listened, and this is what I heard: Jeff Bridges revealing “the funny judo-deal” that is “the big blessing” in his life and Marcia Gay Harden sharing the thrill of being a child in Greece, watching Medea at the Parthenon. Anna Kendrick stating how her white-knuckled passion for a certain alternative-rock band prepared her for the cultural blitz that is the Twilight franchise, and Samuel L. Jackson telling the story of how the film Do the Right Thing saved him from prison and, possibly, death on multiple occasions. Morgan Freeman saying thank you to Miss Cosgrove, his third grade teacher, for giving him detention, which paved the way to his acting career, Kristin Bell expressing gratitude for her eleventh-hour stint as an obstetrician in a third-world country, and comedy maestro Adam McKay unfurling fond memories of bombing onstage in Pittsburgh, bottle caps flicked at his face by surly patrons during particularly rough stand-up routines. (The book also features interviews with musicians like Alicia Keys, Sheryl Crow, BB King, and Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park, authors like Elmore Leonard, Neil Gaiman, Ray Bradbury, and Deepak Chopra, and other beloved figures from pop culture and professional sports).

These interviews are the best of the work I do, and I am so grateful for the opportunity to share them with the world now in ON GRATITUDE: SHERYL CROW, JEFF BRIDGES, ALICIA KEYS, DARYL HALL, RAY BRADBURY, ANNA KENDRICK, BB KING, ELMORE LEONARD, DEEPAK CHOPRA, AND 42 MORE CELEBRITIES SHARE WHAT THEY’RE MOST THANKFUL FOR. On Gratitude, as it turns out, is a spiritual book for people who don’t like spiritual books and a self-help book for people who don’t like self-help books and a celebrity book for people who are sick and tired of celebrity books. It’s a book about listening, really.

It’s your turn now. What are you grateful for? Maybe it’s film-related – a movie that changed your life – and maybe it’s not. Either way, counting blessings is a way to live life more deeply, more fully, more joyfully. You may not make 20-million dollars a picture or adopt orphans in your spare time, but your life every bit as powerful and magical as any celebrity’s. Count your blessings. I’m listening. I’m listening to you.

Submit YOUR list today: Todd@TheGratitudeList.org.

There are many ways in which YOU can help celebrate gratitude with Burbank READS.

1) Submit your personal gratitude list right now. Go on, count three or four things for which you’re grateful, and send the list to todd@thegratitudelist.org.

2) Now ask everyone you know to do #1. We’re building The World’s Largest Gratitude List. We need YOU!

3) Spread the word about Burbank READS to everyone you know. Forward this email. Invite friends, family members, and coworkers to Burbank READS events. Alert the media. The message is yours to carry.

3) If you work for a company, or own a local business, that would like to donate goods, services, gift cards, or other products for Burbank READS goodie bags, please contact todd@thegratitudelist.org. We’ve already got lots of celebrity-signed swag ready to go, but would love your participation.

4) Make a tax-deductible donation to Burbank Friends of the Library: http://www.burbank.lib.ca.us/friends-gifts.cfm.

5) Donate Copies of ON GRATITUDE to Burbank Students & US Military. Last fall, Todd Aaron Jensen and publisher Adams Media donated 1000 copies of ON GRATITUDE to US service members stationed overseas, via Operation Gratitude. The gift had a profound impact and resonance for the author and the troops alike. Now it’s your turn… Grammy-winning songstress Alicia Keys says, “Giving is the greatest way to live a life.” If you would like to purchase a block of signed books at a discounted rate and gift them to your favorite organization, school, church, and company in time for the holidays, we would be thrilled to connect with you. We are also looking for sponsors to gift 1300 books to Burbank Unified School District, so that every graduating senior high school student can receive a complimentary, signed copy of On Gratitude, and sponsorships of 50, 100, 250, and 500 books for US service members, via Operation Gratitude. Purchase more than 50 copies of On Gratitude book during Burbank READS at discounted rate and a portion of your purchase also serves Burbank Friends of the Library. For more information: todd@thegratitudelist.org or 818.209.8975.

6) SERVE YOUR COMMUNITY: Small Giving Equals Big Love. With loving thanks to City of Burbank and Burbank Friends of the Library, Burbank READS events are absolutely FREE. If you’re wondering how to express your gratitude for these blessings, please bring monetary donations, commercially-prepared, unopened foods, or other excellent-condition goods for donation to The Salvation Army, Burbank Temporary Aid Center, and Burbank Family Service Agency. Make A Difference Day is October 22, but Burbank READS will be collecting your tax-deductible donations on behalf of these fine organizations from September 21 – October 29.

7)  THE REVOLUTION IS BEING BROADCAST: www.GratitudeRadioStations.com. The brainchild of entertainer Jeffery Allen Spence, GratitudeRadio is an Internet radio station designed to bring gratitude to the world through a programmed format with music and encouragement. This format will consist of 95% music and 5% spoken encouragement which will include encouraging DJs, morning meditations and short gratitude talks from national authors, artists, and celebrities. GratitudeRadio will encourage and promote new artists performing songs of gratitude, as well as established artists. On Gratitude author Todd Aaron Jensen will be joining the station’s line-up this fall with a pair of hour-long programs, Mantras of Gratitude, featuring yoga music for healing, expanding, and elevating, and Thank Your Lucky Stars, an interview program featuring A-list celebrities sharing their stories of thanks. www.GratitudeRadioStations.com.

Do something nice for someone you don’t know.

- I am grateful for living in the spiritual hub of los angeles and having access to so much wisdom through so many great teachers.

- I am grateful for Disney, for my perfect job and the great joy the many disney creations bring to the children (and adults) around me.

- I am grateful for my fuzzy dog Boo, who reminds me that unconditional love and belly rub is all that really matters.

- For sunsets, oceans, laughter, karma, lessons, seasons, friends, family, rainbows, crickets, connections.

- Strawberries

- Ray Davies

- a little bit of the crazies

- I am grateful for the the pain that brought me to my knees where I stay to pray. I now humbly trudge the spiritual path and seek light. So much freedom comes with the dependence on God.

It is one of the many paradoxes I am grateful to have been shown.

- My Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who died for MY sins on a cross.

- Each new morning: the sunshine, the coffee and fresh hope.

- My wonderful husband, Nathan

- My 2 beautiful children, hand picked for me from God.

- Serving at my church

- Creating and cooking new and wonderful recipes for my family.

- SCRAPBOOKING!

- My wonderful extended family in CA.

- Our little , cute, scrunched-up face pug, Tebow

- GROWING UP WITH TODD JENSEN (down the street from cousins!)