Gratitude means thankfulness, counting your blessings, noticing simple pleasures, and acknowledging everything that you receive. It means learning to live your life as if everything were a miracle, and being aware on a continuous basis of how much you’ve been given. Gratitude shifts your focus from what your life lacks to the abundance that is already present. In addition, behavioral and psychological research has shown the surprising life improvements that can stem from the practice of gratitude. Giving thanks makes people happier and more resilient, it strengthens relationships, it improves health, and it reduces stress.
We usually show our gratitude to others when we feel indebted to them, when we have benefitted from their actions, and when we want to make our feelings towards them known.
Showing gratitude is sometimes a required or expected thing, and at other times a spontaneous “thank you” to someone who has unknowingly made our day. On most occasions, we show gratitude to bring some of the good feelings we have been gifted back to the gifter.
While it is admirable to want to share our gratitude and good feelings with others, we rarely stop to think about what giving others our gratitude does for us.
As it turns out, it does quite a lot.
Gratitude meditation is a type of meditation that focuses on expressing gratitude for the things in your life. According to Jack Kornfield:
“Buddhist monks begin each day with a chant of gratitude for the blessings of their life. Native American elders begin each ceremony with grateful prayers to mother earth and father sky, to the four directions, to the animal, plant, and mineral brothers and sisters who share our earth and support our life. In Tibet, the monks and nuns even offer prayers of gratitude for the suffering they have been given”
Gratitude and Emotional Benefits
Practicing gratitude is known to impact our emotions and emotional health. Evidence has shown that a regular “attitude of gratitude” can…
1. Make us happier.
2. Increase psychological well-being.
3. Increase our self-esteem.
4. Keep suicidal thoughts and attempts at bay.
A well thought out Thank You, instead of a half-hearted, “Thanks,” often leaves people feeling pretty good. Perhaps there was a moment that you can reflect on, that involved strong feelings of gratitude?
Gratitude is an emotion similar to the appreciation that most people are familiar with. What many people do not know is that gratitude plays an important role in several historical movements and that gratitude is now becoming an important part of psychology research, and especially positive psychology research.
A well thought out Thank You, instead of a half-hearted, “Thanks,” often leaves people feeling pretty good. Perhaps there was a moment that you can reflect on, that involved strong feelings of gratitude?
Gratitude is an emotion similar to an appreciation that most people are familiar with. What many people do not know is that gratitude plays an important role in several historical movements and that gratitude is now becoming an important part of psychology research, and especially positive psychology research.
“Gratitude is warmth, rising out from the heart of the receiver to reach out to embrace the doer like the sunshine.”
By – Prof. Mukta Sharma
I happily give credit to Mam Mukta asevery dayI have learnt something from her on ways and means and the value of being Grateful.
