The Power of Practicing Gratitude: Benefits for Mind and Body
By Naturale Bio
Gratitude encompasses much more than the term suggests in its literal sense. Being thankful to someone for something positive they have done for us is undoubtedly wonderful and right, but it presupposes a return, a reason to be happy, and a person to direct our goodwill towards. It does not simply mean saying "thank you."
In a broader sense, gratitude is a general approach to life, disinterested and a priori, without cause or goal, without return or justification. It means being aware and thankful for every little aspect of our daily life, just for being there—alive, healthy, and present—to experience it, for better or worse.
Initially, this perspective may seem complex and challenging, even more extreme in its positivity than mindfulness. But it soon becomes a mindset, extremely beneficial for the mind, body, and relationships with others: it will make us less stressed, help us make friends more easily, resolve family conflicts, and even possibly alleviate that annoying stomach ache.
Gratitude and Happiness: A Close Bond
"But I have so many problems, what should I be grateful for?" is likely the first objection many of you are mentally raising to this approach. True, but the fact is that there is a proven correlation between how we relate to life and problems and how we manage to overcome them. Call it "karma" or simply "taking it philosophically," but being grateful for what we have, for every little good thing, shifts attention to the positive and minimizes the negative.
You may have had a bad day at work, argued with a colleague, and even scratched your car in a parking lot... but if instead of focusing on these objectively negative aspects, you put them in perspective, everything will seem less terrible.
After all, the sun is shining, your partner, children, and/or dog are waiting for you at home, loving you unconditionally. You have food on the table, a job, a new outfit to wear, and a book to read.
Gratitude is an amplifier for happiness: the more grateful you are, the more you notice the many little beautiful things in your life, the happier you become. And the happier you become, the more grateful you are for what you have. Simple, right? It's a real virtuous cycle.
Often, those with a history of significant personal problems, traumas, or severe illnesses are paradoxically more likely to develop gratitude precisely because they are more aware of the importance of small things and the passage of time. For example, those who have spent a long time in the hospital know well the feeling of excitement and emotion in being back home, in their own bed, eating their own food... and they will be much more grateful for it than those who take all this for granted.
Generosity and Gratitude: Giving and Receiving
Gratitude is not only related to happiness but also to generosity. The more grateful we are, the happier we become; the happier we become, the more we are inclined to give.
Being generous is a way to give back, to circulate the good we perceive as part of our lives so that it touches others as well. Generosity can mean volunteering or donating to charity, but not exclusively: it is not just about social engagement or monetary donations.
You can be generous with your daily attitudes: helping a tourist who asks for directions instead of walking straight past, greeting a lonely elderly person in a bar and chatting instead of ignoring them, helping a child who has skinned their knee falling off a bike...
You will find that these small gestures will benefit you more than the person you help, making you feel happier and more grateful.
Training in Gratitude: Keep a Journal
Gratitude is a practice that can be trained and refined daily. A good exercise in gratitude is to keep a journal where you write down three things you are grateful for each day.
Writing down the good things that happen to us, even during the worst times, makes them more concrete and significant. Reading back through the journal over time will also show us how much beauty we experience each day.
For more information:
0 comments