Gratitude, Movement and Compassion

I noticed all the emotions mentioned in the title have a certain similarity. **Does Buddhism talk about movement or gratitude?** Similarly, movement seems to occur spontaneously, but gratitude and compassion may be practised. **Is movement more of a reaction, and less constructive on that basis?** Finally, movement seems akin to sympathetic joy. Would feeling sympathetic joy in itself -- i.e. the feeling or experience of it -- be constructive independently of practice, or is the *implementation* more constructive? **In other words, would practise like meditation or action bring benefit much beyond merely feeling moved?** I guess I'm somewhat implying the question as well: **Do experiences without effort (e.g. merely *feeling* compassion) have any potential for spiritual growth?** Thank you.