Like many Canadians, I recently celebrated Thanksgiving Day with family. I find it interesting that we officially designate one day a year to expressing “thanks”. However, I’ve also noticed that there is an “awareness movement” occurring where people are tuning into “an attitude of gratitude”.
In North American society, it’s easy to get caught up in the seduction of consumerism and the constant focus of not having enough, or always wanting more “stuff”. How many times have you thought, “if I just get that new car, or buy a bigger TV, I’ll be happy”? This can be a “soulless” pursuit, as we never reach a sense of fulfillment….there’s always one more new toy calling us.
According to Judith Timson, a columnist for The Globe and Mail newspaper, “recent research shows that the more genuinely grateful we are for the things we actually have in our lives (as opposed to what we don’t have that we secretly think we’re entitled to), the happier we are and the better our lives feel” (page F7, The Globe and Mail, October 6, 2007).
I’ve been blessed with family, a home, an abundance of food, and toys. I did my fair share of supporting the economy by purchasing “stuff”. While I was able to say “thank you” and had moments of gratitude, I don’t believe I realized how fortunate I was…well, life has a way of throwing curve balls at us, no one gets a free ride. Interestingly enough, my life has changed dramatically; I have less “stuff” and more gratitude!
How did this happen? How was I able to bridge the "gratitude gap"? After all, I can ‘complain’ with the best of them! I can’t say it was easy; in fact, some of life’s events are downright painful! However, I reached a point where I needed to choose how I was going to perceive the world and how I wanted to live in it. This is where gratitude comes in. Yes, it takes work, discipline, awareness and focus, but the payoff is worth it.
Individuals are embracing many ways to get on the “gratitude train”. For example: spiritual practices; meditation; keeping a gratitude journal; silently blessing or wishing others well; being generous with self and others; first thing in the morning and last thing at night thinking of at least three things to be grateful for, and then gradually increasing this to ten things. There are many “gratitude’ websites. Check out www.gogratitude.org/masterkey or www.gogratitude.com where you can sign up for a free 42 day gratitude experiment, or read the article “Boomer Generation Are We Up For The Challenge?”.
What are some of the payoffs? Well…life still happens; we still have unpleasant emotions and difficult situations to deal with. In spite of this, research indicates that adults who practice gratitude daily have “high-energy positive moods, a greater sense of feeling connected to others, more optimistic ratings of one’s life and better sleep duration and sleep quality” (page F7, The Globe and Mail, October 6, 2007).
Don’t believe it? Try it for yourself!
Joyful Blessings,
Cathy
www.joythrugenerosity.com
