
Giving Thanks All Year Round
Well, Thanksgiving was nice. A day to feast with family and/or friends and give thanks for all we have. Felt good, didn’t it? Why not keep it going?
Gratitude expert Richard Emmons, PhD, and others have collected and conducted studies showing that giving thanks improves physical and psychological health. It improves self-esteem, social relationships, and sleep. Gratitude even helps people overcome trauma.
I believe gratitude is the surest, easiest path to happiness and a fulfilled life. The more thanks you give, the better you will feel. We don’t always have a feast to give thanks for, but we have so many things that enrich and enable our lives every day, things we rarely even think of.
Here are some you’re swimming in right now and probably haven’t noticed:
Air. This is not just an inanimate thing that happens to be there. It’s continuously created by every, animal, plant, and bacteria in the world. You could thank them, and the people who fight so hard to keep air breathable by controlling pollution.
Water. Not just the water you drink, cook, and clean with, but all the water inside you. Water is life. You’d be dead in a second without it.
Food. If you thanked all the plants and animals you eat; the insects that pollinate the plants; the bugs, worms, and germs that make the soil; the people who farm the food and get it to you; those who pay you the money you use to buy it; and so on; you’d never stop. And don’t forget the sun, whose energy you’re eating.
Warmth and shelter. If you have those, you’re truly lucky. Think about how you got it and how it’
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