Greetings!   

I can't believe that Thanksgiving is a few short days away. This month I wanted to take the opportunity to bring the positive health effects of Gratitude to your attention. Dr. Andrew Weil suggests that in terms of measurable health benefits, researchers maintain that gratitude fosters optimism, which has been shown to positively influence the immune system. Optimism and other positive emotions are also associated with lowered production of the stress hormone cortisol and with reduced risk of chronic disease.

A study, published in February 2003 of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, found that participants who kept weekly gratitude journals exercised more regularly, reported fewer physical symptoms, felt better about their lives as a whole, and were more optimistic about the coming week compared to those who recorded hassles or neutral life events. The same researchers have reported that while grateful people don't deny or ignore the negative aspects of life, they tend to report positive emotions, life satisfaction, and vitality as well as greater optimism and lower levels of depression and stress than people who are not grateful.

Cultivating the habit of gratitude isn't a bad idea - a weekly gratitude journal could keep you focused on the positive aspects of life instead of its frustrations. Simply pausing daily to list a few things you have to be grateful for can enhance your health and happiness.

According to Dr. Weil, we all can find reasons to be grateful: people we're close to, the beauty and bounty of nature, pets and the companionship they offer and, of course, our health.

Author G.K. Chesterton wrote: "You say grace before meals - but I say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play and pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing and grace before I dip the pen in the ink." I suspect Chesterton didn't do this automatically. He knew that, like forgiveness, gratitude can and should be cultivated through diligent practice.

A less formal practice and one that I follow is to devote a few moments to feel and silently give thanks for all of the good things in my life. Dr. Weil believes that learning to feel and express gratitude may be the most important in achieving and maintaining a happy life.

For more information on ways to achieve emotional well-being, see Dr. Weil's new book: Spontaneous Happiness, and its companion website:

 SpontaneousHappiness.com.

Also, a friend of mine, whom I am very grateful for, brought this video to my attention a couple of years ago. It is one of the most beautiful things I have every viewed. Please take 10 relaxing minutes to enjoy this short film on Gratitude and Happiness by Louie Schwartzberg. A stunningly beautiful piece reminding us of the precious life and the beauty all around us every day by an award-winning cinematographer known for his beautiful time lapsed photography of nature.  

Gratitude and Happiness - a Must See Film! 

Best Regards,

Lynn