Goodness in Gratitude
Gratitude: some may have grown up hearing this word constantly. Maybe it was during church sermons, hearing old people, or truly feeling a need for it. Whatever the case, gratitude may be a missing factor that could help look at life through a different lens.
Merriam-Webster defines gratitude as “the state of being grateful.” Which can automatically be synonymous with other words like thankfulness or appreciativeness. Well, why is this noun so salient to the way of life? The thing about life is that with the many downs that may come, there’s this small but mighty ounce of hope that allows us to persevere: Gratitude.
Acknowledging the blessings
Showing gratitude won’t make any issues disappear but counting one’s blessing can help not lose the spirit when facing opposition. The perfect example that shows why gratitude is so crucial can be how humans love appreciation. By nature, humans like to feel like they are cherished. Since that would automatically mean that they are being acknowledged.
Two people who are in a relationship of sorts, occasionally, like to receive gratitude in reciprocation. An interpersonal relationship with yourself can be similar if not equal to the one you have with others, so making a list of the blessings in a tumultuous situation could carry weight.
Gratitude improves health
Astonishing scientific research done by Dr. Robert A. Emmons (University of California) and Dr. Michael E. McCullough (University of Miami) came to conclude that those who specifically wrote about gratitude were more positive and as result felt better about life. A direct effect showed how they didn’t attend to their physician as much and went to the gym more often.
View the Brightside
Nothing in life is perfect, but not everything in life is terrible either. So why torment oneself about all the bad things, when there are also good things. Water, food, clothing, family, home, music, might be entities that could seem meaningless, but even though they may seem criminally underrated, they reign supreme. Because without them we’d be a bit lost. Looking at life through the bifocals of thanksgiving could be everything and more.