It is a known fact that gratitude leads to health benefits. Better sleep. Less depression. It even leads to a better immune system and less inflammation. As the book of Proverbs says, “A joyful heart is good medicine.” Inspite of the benefits of gratitude, however, it is not something well practiced. We are not very good at saying thank you, or even thinking it. Less than half of men and only slightly more than half of women regularly express any gratefulness on a regular basis. According to Janice Kaplan, the author of “The Gratitude Diaries”, the least grateful are those between the ages of 18-24. But though hopefully one grows more grateful as one gets older, overall we are an ungrateful society, no matter our age.
A few years ago, in an effort to battle some depression, I read a book that encouraged me to begin a list of items for which I was thankful. I have forgotten the name of the book, but as I remember I was to start with a basic list of a few items and add to it each day. After the first few days when I listed the most obvious choices, I had to really think about what I could add. It really was therapeutically amazing!! I came up with so many things. I was so blessed. What I remember the most, was that many of the things I was thankful for were things I had been taking for granted. The colors in a sunset or a warm breeze. The beauty of a flower. The song of a bird. Once I started looking for things, I found them. I had just been missing them even though they had been there all along.
I have never forgotten the lesson that book taught me. Even today, I find it is fun to sit and see what I can come up with. Take for instance the ability to smell or taste food. Often we just breeze through a meal and in a few hours have forgotten what we have eaten. But in slowing down and savoring you notice so much more. Can you sort out the different spices in a good chili or appreciate the texture of a really smooth custard? Think of the genius that designed us. How can we distinguish such differences.? It is amazing to think that we can differentiate between tens of thousands of different smells, sometimes detecting a compound, in wine for instance, at a single part per trillion! Of course we should be thankful for such ability. Instead of being grateful, however, I find that I am much more likely to complain over the smell of sweaty socks than I am to appreciate the lavender in the wash that makes them smell fresh.
