A 2021 study from Harvard Medical School suggests that those who have “gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, improve their health, and build stronger relationships.”
Hopefully we have been taught and continue to teach the response of “thank you,” when we are given something, or someone has done something nice for us. Not only should we say please and thank you but be willing to help others.
Some time before the pandemic I was in a high school attempting to leave at an unfortunate time. The buses had just unloaded and I was going the opposite direction than a stampede of teens. Not once did any teen stop to ask if I needed through.
Just a few days later I was in an elementary school in a very similar situation, but with a different outcome. Almost every other kid, boy and girl, stopped and asked if I wanted to pass through. It made me wonder besides hormones what happens to kids from elementary to high school.
Gratitude actually changes our brains making us healthier and happier. According to the above mentioned study from Harvard people who consciously count their blessings tend to be in better moods and less depressed. The feeling of gratitude can influence and boosts other positive emotions such as joy and compassion. These feelings encourage us to look for and connect with the things in life that are good.
This is why the Bible explains in Philippians 4:8, “whatsoever is true and honest, just, pure, lovely, and things of good report, and things of virtue and praiseworthy…think upon these things.” Kidshealth.com informs of three ways to practice gratitude. We need to purposefully notice the good things that are happening around us. Pay attention to the good things even when things are not going well. Then we need to be willing to express our thankfulness by telling others or at least writing it down.
John F. Kennedy was quoted as saying, “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”
~TRS
written Jan 2022
Rays of Hope 