Gratitude in Tough Times

[deutsey]

http://www.midshorelife.com/content/interfaith-thanksgiving-service-easton-celebrates-gratitude-tough-times

As Thanksgiving approaches, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about making gratitude a more active, integral part of my daily life.

Thanksgiving is a great time for everyone in the community to share food and music and celebrate the many things we have to be thankful for. Even though times are tough, there is still much to be grateful about.

Now, a moment of confession. As much as I believe all this talk about thankfulness, I have to admit that grousing about life’s sucky situations can sometimes be a lot easier for me (and maybe even more satisfying) than expressing gratefulness. In fact, trying to be thankful during particularly difficult times can even seem annoyingly superficial to me at times, like I’m avoiding harsh reality.

However, according to the results of a study done earlier this decade, the daily practice of gratitude can apparently not only help you better face reality; it can actually improve your reality as well.

MORE...

PS: The editor of the site removed some time-sensitive information from my original. In the process, she made a couple minor errors in the text.

[midnight]

1. Lovely. Thank you for sharing this.

[Igel]

2. I find gratitude essential.

We have our little kid, whenever he gets upset because he's disappointed or dejected, recount things he's grateful for. He's still resentful, quite often, but it puts things in context. Often it calls to mind some toy he has that he prefers to the new thing he didn't get and he runs off to play with it. Or he remembers that he could go play with a friend.

There's a dippy VeggieTales song that goes "For a grateful heart is a happy heart." Well, at least content without being complaisant. It's cloying, but nails it well enough for kids.

Actually, it nails it well enough for adults, but they're so into envy, avarice and greed, resentment and power struggles that they simply don't have time for gratitude. Sadly, it shows.

[54anickel]

3. Thank you for sharing. Some great links and links to links in that piece. I've been lost for over

an hour.