Why is Gratitude Important?
Our lives are busy. We have shopping, laundry, work, family, friends and so many other things. Taking a moment for ourselves can lead to feelings of anger because we have so many other things we should be doing. But we all need to stop for a moment and appreciate the things and people around us. Find a time to be grateful for what we have.
According to the Google dictionary, gratitude is defined as: the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.
Happier Human reports that a five minute a day gratitude journal increases our long term well-being by 10%, which is the same impact as doubling our income. Who wouldn't like that?
Most of us believe we are grateful. We thank the person who holds the door for us. We thank the waitress who brings us a second glass of water. But do we really take the time to sit down and reflect on the people and things we are grateful for? I am grateful for the clean air I breathe because in many parts of the world, people struggle to breathe. Looking at the pieces we appreciate brings a deeper value to our lives as we focus on what is good, rather than what we are missing. 
November is a perfect month since it culminates with the holiday of Thanksgiving where we naturally give thanks for all we have in our lives, as well as to the people (from past and present) who have helped us.
Take those five minutes each day and journal about your gratitude, your body and mind will thank you!
My book Home is Where the Heart is features five sisters and daughters who left Amherst, Ohio to escape their small town lives only to return and find that love was really always around the corner.
EXCERPT:
“Hi Syn, Mr. Wilder. Do you mind if I join you?
This place is packed, and I hate to eat alone.”
“Hello Thom. Nice to see you. What have you been
up to lately? I haven’t seen you since you dated Syn, here. I must have scared
you off good,” Dad replied with a grin.
“Mr. Wilder, you didn’t scare me off. Syn decided
to run away to the big city and leave this small town behind.” T.J. winked at
me, so I stuck my tongue out at him.
I felt like an idiot while they spoke about me,
and a little shocked that Dad didn’t remember T.J. being at the recent fire. “Hello—I am sitting
right here. You shouldn’t talk about me like I’m invisible.” They continued to
ignore me, in favor of the conversation. I took the moment to look at T.J. He
certainly had grown up. I studied his profile, trying to find a small part of
that little boy who was my best friend growing up. His strong jawline and full
lips were new to me. His baby fat was gone, but his strong nose was the same.
The aquiline had a bump that always looked like he had broken it, which earned
him the nickname Rocky. I loved his smile. It was a full grin that lit up his
whole face and made his eyes twinkle. I wish I could go back and have a chat
with my teenage self. I would share with her just how sexy T.J. was today. Of
course, I would probably also have a few words to say to teenage T.J. too.
After all, I wasn’t the only one in that relationship.
My ears perked up when I heard Dad invite T.J.
over for dinner tomorrow night. It will be nice to give Dad something to do,
but another evening with T.J…can my heart handle it?
~*~
Thank you for stopping by today and I wish you all the blessings of the season. I am grateful for all of you who spend a moment reading my post today. <3
Until next month!
xoxo
Melissa
3 comments:
It is good to express gratitude. Words go a long way.
debby236 at gmail dot com from USA
More than expressing gratitude is feeling appreciation. No thing, no action, no event makes us happy. It is in appreciating it that we feel happy. A paper clip or a million dollars, we can take either for granted or we can appreciate either. Happiness is in the path we take.
Happiness is important but also the appreciation for what we have. I find that many of us look at the glass as half empty but should value that we have a glass at all :)
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