From a very young age, I have always been one of those Pollyanna types. Seeing the good in every situation, person, place, thing. Something positive in amongst negatives. There is always something good to come out of every event in our lives. We simply have to be open to receive the knowledge of what it was we were supposed to learn and integrate that growth into our core.
When I was only fourteen, one of my many memberships in a 'Book of the Month' club series delivered to my home was titled The Value Tales for Children. Many a night, when my kids were little, we would read "The Attitude of Gratitude."
Some research shows that having the attitude of gratitude may be good for your health.
No matter what life throws your way, there is a reason for it.
Look for the good in it. Treasure the life lessons learned from whatever happened -- good or bad. Then move forward.
Today is the first day of the rest of your life...
Live it fully... one moment at a time...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The gratitude factor: giving thanks can add years to life
Galveston County Daily News, Nov. 22, 2007
In this article about expressing gratitude, associate professor Glenn Ostir, of the Sealy Center on Aging at UTMB, says that science supports the benefits that accrue from choosing to be a thankful person.
Giving thanks can add years to your life.
No fat, no salt, no sugar and so on, plus generous levels of possibly boring exercise.
Good advice, no doubt, but hardly a suitable suggestion for this celebration — Thanksgiving Day.
But, what if one of the things you could do to better your future prospects for health and happiness was non-caloric, self-rewarding, and absolutely free?
Like giving thanks every day.
Dr. Glenn Ostir of the Sealy Center on Aging at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and other experts say that science backs the benefits that accrue from choosing to be a thankful person.
"Simply put, we have found that positive emotion offers a lot of benefits for well-being," he said. "In large measure, we can choose to be happy or sad."
Ostir said that happiness was a choice that comes from understanding your place in life and your own self-worth and that accepting your environment and circumstances could be a healthful alternative to bitterness.
"Happy people live longer and are less likely to have a heart attack or stroke," Ostir said. "Even when they do they are more likely to recover quickly from such a negative health event. How you cope with change makes a real difference."
Ostir, a professor of internal medicine, said medical research showed that cultivating a positive, thankful point of view pays proven benefits.
He also cautioned that anyone who dwells on the might-have-beens or what-ifs of life was courting the down side of this same effect.
Jason Marsh, editor of Greater Good Magazine, agreed.
"It's hard to say how deep or wide they go, but it has been documented that there are physical benefits that come from gratitude," he said. "Fewer symptoms of illness and greater joy — both physical and emotional health — as well as relationships are better for thankful people."
Not feeling that thankful this year?
Marsh said that it appears that even faking gratitude may be of some measurable benefit.
He described a physiological study where participants were asked to simulate gratitude as an exercise.
"The families of those who did the exercise reported that those who did the gratitude exercise were happier as well as better people to be around," he explained.
Although better founded, this sentiment is not new. In fact, it was famously expressed by Abraham Lincoln who has been widely quoted as saying, "Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be."
Scientists may be relative newcomers to the benefits of thanksgiving but, of course, the Pilgrims, who began the founding feast in 1621, saw significance in it.
Later, the practice was enshrined as a uniquely American holiday by Lincoln in 1863, though both President Franklin Roosevelt and Congress adjusted the dates of the observance in the 20th century.
Allen Isbell, an attorney who is a minister for Broadway Church of Christ in Galveston, suggested that hardship could help some learn to be thankful.
"The impulse to be thankful happens most often when we feel threatened with the loss of common blessings, such as health, personal relationships, work or freedom," he said. "People who can project mentally the possible loss of these blessings are usually the most grateful."
While suffering and thanksgiving may seem to make unlikely companions, the two have been linked in many lives.
Gregorio Pedroza, a noted bilingual storyteller, has an illness that fills his days with constant searing pain, but he counsels thankfulness instead of bitterness, even for others who suffer.
"There are no coincidences in life," Pedroza said. "I thank God for the joys of the highs and for the strength to live through the lows. The impulse to thanksgiving begins when we realize that there is a loving, creator God."
The gratitude factor: giving thanks can add years to life
Galveston County Daily News, Nov. 22, 2007
In this article about expressing gratitude, associate professor Glenn Ostir, of the Sealy Center on Aging at UTMB, says that science supports the benefits that accrue from choosing to be a thankful person.
Giving thanks can add years to your life.
| By Rick Cousins Contributor |
Published November 22, 2007
A rich assortment of lifestyle prescriptions have been touted for improving your chances at a long and happy life, but often these entail an unpopular level of self-denial.No fat, no salt, no sugar and so on, plus generous levels of possibly boring exercise.
Good advice, no doubt, but hardly a suitable suggestion for this celebration — Thanksgiving Day.
But, what if one of the things you could do to better your future prospects for health and happiness was non-caloric, self-rewarding, and absolutely free?
Like giving thanks every day.
Dr. Glenn Ostir of the Sealy Center on Aging at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and other experts say that science backs the benefits that accrue from choosing to be a thankful person.
"Simply put, we have found that positive emotion offers a lot of benefits for well-being," he said. "In large measure, we can choose to be happy or sad."
Ostir said that happiness was a choice that comes from understanding your place in life and your own self-worth and that accepting your environment and circumstances could be a healthful alternative to bitterness.
"Happy people live longer and are less likely to have a heart attack or stroke," Ostir said. "Even when they do they are more likely to recover quickly from such a negative health event. How you cope with change makes a real difference."
Ostir, a professor of internal medicine, said medical research showed that cultivating a positive, thankful point of view pays proven benefits.
He also cautioned that anyone who dwells on the might-have-beens or what-ifs of life was courting the down side of this same effect.
Jason Marsh, editor of Greater Good Magazine, agreed.
"It's hard to say how deep or wide they go, but it has been documented that there are physical benefits that come from gratitude," he said. "Fewer symptoms of illness and greater joy — both physical and emotional health — as well as relationships are better for thankful people."
Not feeling that thankful this year?
Marsh said that it appears that even faking gratitude may be of some measurable benefit.
He described a physiological study where participants were asked to simulate gratitude as an exercise.
"The families of those who did the exercise reported that those who did the gratitude exercise were happier as well as better people to be around," he explained.
Although better founded, this sentiment is not new. In fact, it was famously expressed by Abraham Lincoln who has been widely quoted as saying, "Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be."
Scientists may be relative newcomers to the benefits of thanksgiving but, of course, the Pilgrims, who began the founding feast in 1621, saw significance in it.
Later, the practice was enshrined as a uniquely American holiday by Lincoln in 1863, though both President Franklin Roosevelt and Congress adjusted the dates of the observance in the 20th century.
Allen Isbell, an attorney who is a minister for Broadway Church of Christ in Galveston, suggested that hardship could help some learn to be thankful.
"The impulse to be thankful happens most often when we feel threatened with the loss of common blessings, such as health, personal relationships, work or freedom," he said. "People who can project mentally the possible loss of these blessings are usually the most grateful."
While suffering and thanksgiving may seem to make unlikely companions, the two have been linked in many lives.
Gregorio Pedroza, a noted bilingual storyteller, has an illness that fills his days with constant searing pain, but he counsels thankfulness instead of bitterness, even for others who suffer.
"There are no coincidences in life," Pedroza said. "I thank God for the joys of the highs and for the strength to live through the lows. The impulse to thanksgiving begins when we realize that there is a loving, creator God."
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