“I am grateful.”
“I am grateful.”
“I am grateful.”
These are three short but very powerful words. Gratitude is one of the most beautiful practices. What makes it so beautiful is that it can be practiced at any point in one’s life as there is always something to be grateful for.
How Gratitude Helps You to Be Happy
According to Harvard Medical School, In positive psychology research, gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness. Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships.
Two psychologists, Dr. Robert A. Emmons of the University of California, Davis, and Dr. Michael E. McCullough of the University of Miami, have done much of the research on gratitude. In one study, they asked all participants to write a few sentences each week, focusing on particular topics.
One group wrote about things they were grateful for that had occurred during the week. A second group wrote about daily irritations or things that had displeased them, and the third wrote about events that had affected them (with no emphasis on them being positive or negative). After 10 weeks, those who wrote about gratitude were more optimistic and felt better about their lives. Surprisingly, they also exercised more and had fewer visits to physicians than those who focused on sources of aggravation.
The Object of Gratitude
If you receive help from someone, you thank them. If someone gives you a gift, you thank them. Who do you then thank for the general circumstances in your life?
God, The Almighty Who is The Giving and The Most Generous is the One deserving of our gratitude for our life circumstances. Even in situations when other individuals are of service to us, God should be the one we thank first as He helped us through those people.
The secular concept of gratitude completely omits the presence of an object of gratitude. If you are saying you are grateful for your good health, who are you directing this gratitude to? Some will say “The universe”. But the universe itself is a creation of God.
When you acknowledge that whatever you are thankful for has a source, your gratitude becomes grounded and you feel a sense of clarity which helps you to be happy.
Conclusion
Gratitude is an essential practice in the life of every individual. No matter how bad an experience one may be facing, there is always so much to be grateful for. The benefits of gratitude are numerous and the reasons to be grateful are infinite. Even the ability to practice gratitude is something to be grateful for as many often do not.
So what are you waiting for? Begin the habit of gratitude practice today and make it a part of your life. Remember to direct your gratitude to the One who provided you with that which you are thankful for.
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Sadiya Mukhtar 