The Source of Gratitude
🎤An Open Mic post that invites readers to speak on thanks
Welcome to this special holiday post:
You’re stuffed, sated, caught up on the news from your family and friends who’ve come in to see you (or who you’ve traveled to visit). Or, you are on your own this year, taking some much needed solitude over the holiday known in this country as Thanksgiving. Or, you are without people and alone. You are lonely and wondering where it all went so wrong that you are without people today, without celebration, without community.
No matter who you are, no matter what you are doing, and no matter what you think about this particular holiday, let’s take this moment to consider gratitude.
From the Etymology Dictionary, gratitude comes from "good will" which comes from the from Medieval Latin gratitudinem (nominative gratitudo) "thankfulness," from Latin gratus "thankful, pleasing.” It emerged in the 15th century.
Gratitude is a way of appreciating the kindness, beauty, and wonder that life has to offer. Gratitude connects us to one another and the world we live in, increasing our wish to nurture, help, and protect one another, and increasing our sense of belonging.
~ From The Power of Gratitude by Lois Blyth
According to Harvard Health, studies show that expressing gratitude can raise our happiness by 25% (how the heck can that be measured, anyway? But I digress). The point of the study is that “…gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships.”
How my cup runneth over today:
I have a spiritual practice that fills me with relief because I finally know where I’m going now and how to get there.
I am healthy and all who I love and tend to are healthy, too.
I can write my thoughts on this site, and you will read them, and make comments. How wonderful is that?
I have good work in the form of teaching the literary arts, and each week work with students I admire and often adore.
Your turn: How does your cup runneth over?
Write your answer in the comment section and I’ll be there with you, cheering you on.
In gratitude to everyone here at Flight School and to
.~ Jennifer
I've got this theme scheduled to write about on Monday (I'm a Brit, so thanksgiving doesn't count!).
I am grateful that things are not as bad as they could be
I'm grateful for a warm home and enough food that I'm able to share it. That hasn't always been the case.
I'm grateful for friends and family that brighten my life.
I'm grateful for a new career that makes me excited to get up in the morning and hurry across the house to my office and get started.
There is so much I appreciate in my life and in the world around me.