The Spiritual Work of Gratitude
To be grateful for the good things that happen in our lives is easy, but to be grateful for all of our lives the good as well as the bad, the moments of joy as well as the moments of sorrow, the successes as well as the failures, the rewards as well as the rejections- that requires hard spiritual work.
Still, we are only truly grateful people when we can say thank you to all that has brought us to the present moment. As long as we keep dividing our lives between events and people we would like to remember and those we would rather forget, we cannot claim the fullness of our beings as a gift of God to be grateful for.
Let’s not be afraid to look at everything that has brought us to where we are now and trust that we will soon see in it the guiding hand of a loving God.
—Henri J. M. Nouwen
Bread for the Journey
Gratefulness is good for us! Studies have shown that being grateful improves our physical and emotional health. It boosts our immune system and increases blood supply to our heart. People who have kept a gratitude journal report increased alertness, enthusiasm and improved sleep. There’s even some evidence from neuroscience that suggests how practicing gratitude can change your brain. Studies found that participants who had written gratitude letters in therapeutic treatment expressed more gratitude and had more activity three months later in their pregenual anterior cingulate cortex, an area involved in predicting the outcomes of actions. This result suggests that a simple gratitude intervention can lead to lasting brain changes even months after the intervention ends. What’s not to love about being grateful? —DH
—David Hoskins, Founder & Care Guide, Sanctuary Clinics