Then one day Marie received some shocking news from her doctor. She had cancer, and it was spreading rapidly. She had barely enough resources to put a cent in the medical treatments she would need.

Soon, Marie witnessed what she had always known: although she was not financially wealthy, she already had the most valuable possessions on earth. Hundreds in her community and surrounding areas teamed up to help her and her family.

Many people she had touched in caring ways demonstrated appreciation for Marie's life. Marie did not live to see the day when her bills were fully paid. However, she lived long enough to feel the love of those she had cheerfully served.

The spirits of love and gratitude multiply when they are shared. Happiness is the result of sharing love and gratitude. Giving selflessly was a value that Marie displayed all her life, and her spirit of giving lived after her in those who knew and loved her.

All her life, Marie had demonstrated the truth of this simple principle: happiness will not come from worldly possessions or fortune. Rather, it is an attitude that comes from appreciating what we already have. We can find the happiness we seek if we will first share it with others. Then—and only then—we will have the most valuable possessions on earth: love, happiness, and increasing gratitude.

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玛利是位两个孩子的单亲母亲，住在密苏里乡村社区。她平日全职工作，周末卖手工皮制礼品。她还将大量的业余时间奉献给众多的慈善机构和社区工程。

一天，玛利从她医生那里得知了一个令人震惊的消息——她得了癌症，癌细胞正在迅速扩散。她的经济生活拮据，很不宽裕，哪怕一分钱都不被容许花在她需要接受的医药治疗上。

但不久，玛利就证实了她早就明白的一个事实：尽管她在金钱方面并不富有，但事实上她已经拥有了世界上最宝贵的财产。她所在社区和相邻社区的成百上千的人同心协力帮助她以及她的家庭。

许多曾经被玛利的同情心和人道精神打动的人们对玛利的生活表示同情和理解。玛利没有活到她的医药费用完全付清的那天，但她却活得足够长久，有生之时感受到了曾经接受过她愉快帮助的人们奉献的爱。

爱和感恩之心在与他人一起分享时会成倍增长。幸福是分享爱与感激的结果。无私奉献是玛利整个一生发扬的价值观念;虽然她已离开人世，但她的奉献精神仍然活在那些认识她和对她施以爱心的人们的心中。

玛利的整个一生表明了这样一个简单原则的真谛：幸福不是来源于尘世的财产或财富;相反地，它是一种态度，是来源于对珍惜、欣赏我们所拥有一切的态度。只有我们首先跟他人一起分享幸福时，我们才能获得自己所追求的幸福。那时——也只有那时，我们才将拥有世界上最宝贵的财富——爱情，幸福，还有与日俱增的感恩之心。