It’s often easy to forget, and even easier to forget as I age. One area of forgetfulness for me is around how good I’ve got it; it is easy to take for granted all the comforts and good stuff of life.
I recently returned from a trip to Central America that was an informative mix of both plenty and sparse. We met and talked with daughter Rebekah’s coworkers and friends, ate dinner with a Managuan family, stayed a day at an ocean-side resort, and enjoyed the natural beauty of a crater lake and natural reserve area. In Nicaragua we saw much need among the people. It’s difficult to understand why some have so much and others so little. Seeing the “so little” gives sharp contrast to my “so much” and urges me to share my abundance. Certainly too it propels me toward greater gratitude.
Cultivating greater gratitude is a good thing. Robert Emmons (PhD, author, psychology professor and researcher at University of California, Davis) reminds us of some ways that gratitude does a body good:
- "Grateful people take better care of themselves and engage in more protective health behaviors like regular exercise, a healthy diet, regular physical examinations.”
- "Gratitude research is beginning to suggest that feelings of thankfulness have tremendous positive value in helping people cope with daily problems, especially stress."
"The benefits of gratitude come from the long-term cultivation of the disposition of gratefulness through dedicated practice," writes Emmons in THANKS!: How The New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier (2007). “Gratitude is literally one of the few things that can measurably change peoples’ lives.”
Below are few suggestions to practice gratitude from webmd. (I’ve said some of this before – it’s certainly not new news – but concepts we may need to remind ourselves of.)
- Maintain a gratitude journal. Emmons' research showed that people who keep gratitude journals on a weekly basis exercise more regularly, report fewer physical symptoms, feel better about their lives as a whole, and maintain greater optimism about the future.
- Create a list of benefits in your life and ask yourself, "To what extent do I take these for granted?" Some people need concrete visual reminders to maintain mindfulness of their gratitude, explains Emmons. Today, write down five things for which you’re grateful.
- Talk to yourself in a creative, optimistic, and appreciate manner, or reframe a situation with a more positive attitude. If you're facing a challenging situation, determine how it might ultimately be beneficial; a for instance is recognizing that having to cope with particularly difficult people in your job or neighborhood can improve your patience and understanding.
I’ll close with a few quotes.
…give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. I Thessalonians 5:18
Gratitude is born in hearts that take time to count up past mercies. – Charles Jefferson
“I cannot tell you anything that, in a few minutes, will tell you how to be rich. But I can tell you how to feel rich, which is far better, let me tell you firsthand, than being rich. Be grateful….It’s the only totally reliable get-rich-quick scheme.” – Ben Stein (actor, comedian, economist)
“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.” – Cicero (Roman author, orator, and politician, 106 BC-43 BC)
“Gratitude implies humility – a recognition that we could not be who we are or where we are in life without the contributions of others… a knowing awareness that we are the recipients of goodness.” – Robert Emmons
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. I Chronicles 16:34, Psalm 106:1, Psalm 107:1, Psalm 118:1 and 29, Psalm 136:1
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