Are you grateful?
When you arise, what is the first thing you think or say? Do you bemoan another day at work or school? Do you complain about the weather?
It's funny how little things make a big influence.
When I was young, typically my mother or grandmother would awaken me singing one of two songs.
"Good morning, sunshine... it's time to rise and shine."
Or:
"Rise and shine and give God the glory, glory... Children of the Lord."
Those songs may seem like simple little ditties, but they set the tone for gratefulness and a pleasant attitude.
Robert Emmons, the world's leading scientific expert on gratitude, said gratitude is good for our bodies, our minds, and our relationships. In one study, he had people keep gratitude journals for just three weeks and found the results overwhelming. He said he's studied more than 1,000 people, from ages 8 to 80, and found that people who practice gratitude consistently report a host of benefits including:
Physical
• Stronger immune systems
• Less bothered by aches and pains
• Lower blood pressure
• Exercise more and take better care of their health
• Sleep longer and feel more refreshed upon waking
Psychological
• Higher levels of positive emotions
• More alert, alive, and awake
• More joy and pleasure
• More optimism and happiness
Social
• More helpful, generous, and compassionate
• More forgiving
• More outgoing
• Feel less lonely and isolated
The social benefits are especially significant here because, after all, gratitude is a social emotion. Emmons said he sees gratitude as a relationship-strengthening emotion because it requires us to see how we've been supported and affirmed by other people.
Sometimes, when we're down in the dumps, we may think there's nothing for which to be grateful. But, if we really consider it, maybe just the fact that we can feel (even pain), see, hear, breathe, move are reasons for which to be grateful.
Why don't you do a personal experiment and keep a gratitude journal this month and see how that affects your perspective?
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Editor's note: Annette Beard is the managing editor of The Times of Northeast Benton County. The opinions expressed are those of the author. She can be reached at [email protected].
Editorial on 05/17/2017