The Power of ... Gratitude

Not long ago, I read a review of a book by Debbie Macomber entitled One Simple Act: Discovering the Power of Generosity.














Intrigued, I ordered the book online.

In the first chapter, Debbie mentions the Quaker practice of keeping gratitude journals - daily writing lists of things they were grateful for. After reading about it, she herself started to do the same thing, in a little notebook she nicknamed her "Ode to Joy."

She later came across some some astonishing scientific findings about the power of being grateful...

• Researchers at the University of California and the University of Miami discovered that "people who kept gratitude journals on a weekly basis exercised more regularly, reported fewer illness symptoms, felt better about their lives as a whole, and were more optimistic about the upcoming week compared to those who recorded troubles or neutral life events...

• ... participants who kept gratitude lists were more likely to have made progress over a two-month period toward their most important personal goals - academic, interpersonal, and health based - compared to ... their control group..."

She also mentions that a professor of bioethics observed five positive results of being grateful:

1. "...Just fifteen minutes a day focusing on the things you're grateful for will significantly increase your body's natural antibodies."

2. "...grateful people are more focused mentally and ... less vulnerable to clinical depression."

3. "... healthier blood pressure and heart rate..."

4. "...grateful caregivers are healthier..."

5. "Recipients of donated organs who have the most grateful attitudes heal faster."














Hmmmm... Maybe I should give it a try, too!