Is gratitude the most important emotion of all? | David Shariatmadari

It's moral, feels great and keeps you healthy. But being grateful isn't just good for you - it might hold the key to a more peaceful world

"In the winter of 1941-1942 the threat of danger settled round my neck like a noose and kept tightening." Marie Jalowicz Simon, a young Berliner, shared the fate of thousands of her fellow citizens who had been unable or unwilling to flee Germany and the Nazi regime.

She was Jewish, lodging in a tiny room with a Jewish family, dodging demands by the authorities that she go out and work in support of the war effort. One morning, the Gestapo came calling. They marched into the house and straight to her bedside, saying she needed to come in for questioning. Thinking on her feet, she asked that she be able to go downstairs and get some food to bring with her. "I can't run away from you dressed just in a petticoat, can I?"