Friday, April 16, 2010

Gratitude

Reading a book about the science of gratitude. Here is a snippet:

"We have discovered that a person who experiences gratitude is able to cope more effectively with everyday stress, may show increased resilience in the face of trauma-induced stress, and may recover more quickly from illness and benefit from greater physical health. Our research has led us to conclude that experiencing gratitude leads to increased feelings of connectedness, improved relationships, and even altruism. We have also found that when people experience gratitude, they feel more loving, more forgiving, and closer to God. Gratitude, we have found, maximizes the enjoyment of the good--our enjoyment of others, of God, of our lives. Happiness is facilitated when we enjoy what we have been given, when we "want what we have.""


~ Robert A. Emmons, Ph.D

thanks!
How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier

I have come to understand that gratitude is a discipline. We have choices in each day; each interaction. We choose how we look at each and what we do with the information obtained through that analysis. Why not focus on what is going right? Why not let others know that the gift they offer matters to us? Why not move from taking things for granted to real acknowledgement?

Gratitude has a couple of parts--recognition and acknowledgement. Recognition brings about a self awareness, while acknowledgement is the expression of that knowing.
Also interesting to ponder the last sentence--enjoying what we have been given and wanting what we have.