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In this special season of Thanksgiving and the fast-approaching Hanukkah and Christmas seasons, many of us need to be reminded of how necessary the “attitude of gratitude” is for each of us. Mother Teresa of Calcutta once recounted a true story which deeply impressed her:
“One night, a man came to our house to tell me that a Hindu family, a family of eight children, had not eaten anything for days. They had nothing to eat. I took enough rice for a meal and went to their house. I could see the hungry faces, the children with their bulging eyes. The sight could not have been more dramatic! The mother took the rice from my hands, divided it in half and went out.
“When she came back a little l ater, I asked her: ‘Where did you go? What did you do?’ She answered, ‘They also are hungry.’ ‘They’ were the people next door, a Muslim family with the same number of children to feed and who did not have any food either. ?That mother was aware of the situation.
“She had the courage and the love to share her meager portion of rice with others. In spite of her circumstances, I think she felt very happy to share with her neighbors the little I had taken her. In order not to take away her happiness, I did not take her any more rice that night. I took her some more the following day.”
At times we can become hardened by the challenges and pressures of life, anxious about and greedy for what can make our own lives easier. We can easily allow ourselves to forget our connection with the needs of our sisters and brothers around us. That is truly unfortunate because, as Francis of Assisi’s prayer reminds us: “It is in giving that we receive.” Unless we somehow learn to be grateful, to share with others, and even give until it hurts, we will not be able to truly happy.
Being thankful has a definite connection with happiness. A research study conducted from 2003 to 2008 by scientists at the University of California, Davis, stated that “Religions and philosophies have long embraced gratitude as an indispensable manifestation of virtue, and an integral component of health, wholeness, and well-being. Through conducting highly focused, cutting-edge studies on the nature of gratitude, its causes, and its consequences, we hope to shed important scientific light on this important concept.”
I found some of their conclusions very interesting. Their findings included that:
1) “Most people report being grateful (an average rating of nearly 6 on a 7 point scale).” In other words, most people have a good sense of gratefulness and see it as necessary and central for correct balance of their life.
2) “Grateful people report higher levels of positive emotions, life satisfaction, vitality, optimism and lower levels of depression and stress.” Although life includes both positives and negatives, a grateful attitude helps us keep a generally positive outlook on daily life.
3) “People with a strong disposition toward gratitude have the capacity to be empathic and to take the perspective of others.” Those who maintain a grateful attitude seem to be able to be more sensitive and responsive to the needs of others.
4) “Gratitude does not require religious faith, but faith enhances the ability to be grateful.” Also grateful people have a tendency to perceive that we are all members of the one family of humankind and they tend to help the needy.
5) “Grateful individuals place less importance on material goods, …are less likely to judge their own and others success in terms of possessions accumulated; they are less envious of others and more likely to share their possessions with others relative to less grateful persons.”
The bottom line of their study seems to conclude that gratitude is simply good for you. It can strengthen the health not only of your body but also of your soul! (Report from: http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/labs/emmons/)