The evidence is profound for a gratitude practice
We have entered the month of giving thanks. So thank you for opening this email when you can, or coming to class when you are available.
At our family's Thanksgiving, before dinner, we share what we are grateful for. When the kids were younger, most of their gratitude was for family and friends, but as they grew older, the gratitude became deeper.
This week, I read an article on expressing gratitude. The journalist started a gratitude practice, but went deeper and when she brought to mind what she was grateful for, she linked memories to her gratitude.
With this in mind, I was grateful the other day when a friend asked me to go on a hike in an area I had not hiked before. Then I thought about how grateful I was to have met this friend on a bike trip to Oregon. We now live 15 minutes from each other.
Not only was the hike beautiful and fun, but it also allowed me to deepen my gratitude, bringing back good memories and happiness.
I'm sure you have all heard about the latest research on the importance of finding gratitude in our daily lives, but here goes in case you haven't.
“In 2016, 49,275 women who are enrolled in the Nurses' Health Study, completed a six-item gratitude questionnaire. Four years later, researchers combed through participants' medical records to determine who had died. There were 4,608 deaths from all causes, but participants with gratitude scores in the highest third at the study's start had a 9% lower risk of dying over the following four years than participants who scored in the bottom third. Gratitude appeared to protect participants from all causes of death studied, including cardiovascular disease.”
There is no perfect way to express gratitude, but a reminder that it is free, it doesn't need to be long, or a particular time of day.
It can be stated quietly or out loud
It can be written down.
You can go old school and send thank-you notes.
Most importantly, do what is easiest for you in your day. Just do it, and see if it brings you more happiness and better health.
Again, THANK YOU!!
