LINKING HAPPINESS WITH GRATITUDE
Feel Good with Gratefulness
Gratitude. All of know the feeling of happiness when a good thing happens. We recognize we have received a gift and respond with emotional release. Diane Butler Bass, in her engaging exploration of this subject, writes, “The right place to begin understanding gratitude is as an emotion issuing from the heart, that pulsing, mysterious place at the center of our being.[1] Science has found that the brain responds to a gift or favor by releasing serotonin and dopamine, the “feel good” chemicals, which make our body relax, our emotions regulate, and our social awareness grow. Gratitude makes us feel connected to the giver and desiring more interactions. Psychologist Madhuleena Chowdhury writes, “Gratitude is an emotion that directly targets at building and sustaining social bondings and reinforces prosocial responses in the future.”[2]
Religious faith is filled with demonstrations of gratitude. Abraham built a great altar of stones to express thanks to the God who had brought him out of danger to a new land.[3] Psalm 95 enjoins, “Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.” Jesus complimented the one leper out of 10 healed who returned to thank him for the miracle, saying this heretic Samaritan had the only real faith.[4] Paul urges Christians to “always giving thanks to God the Father for everything.”[5]
All that is nice and good, especially as a moral lesson. But there’s more: scientists have uncovered far more benefits to gratitude than we had ever dreamed. Research shows cultivating gratefulness will reduce the perception of pain, improve our sleep, manage our stress levels, reduce anxious and depressive moods, connect us closer to others, and build our resilience to handle the difficult events of life.[6] Wait, did that register? Let me say it again: you will sleep better, handle stress better, be less anxious or depressed, know love, and thrive in the hard times if we have practiced expressing gratitude.
How can we develop this magic elixir of a happy and healthy life? We must practice the art of gratitude. Martin Seligman, father of positive psychology and founder of the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania, anchors this to the practice of a daily journal called the “Three Blessings.” The instructions are simple. Each day take 10 minutes before bed to write three things that went well today, and why this happened. The answers can be small, like “I enjoyed my favorite ice cream,” or large, “the twins are healthy.” The why behind the event is important. “The ice cream reminded me of my Dad,” or, “God and the doctor brought a safe birth.” Dr. Seligman says, after hearing from thousands of students and clients, “The odds are you will be less depressed, happier, and addicted to the exercise six months from now.”[7]
Albert Schweitzer, Nobel Prize winner, multi-disciplinary scholar, and missionary, is quoted, “The greatest thing is to give thanks for everything. [The one] who has learned this knows what it means to live. He has penetrated the mystery of life.”[8]
As I snuggle into my bed most nights, I focus on thanking God for the events of the day. The sacred dialogue allows me to reflect and give thanks for the divine energy of love that has appeared. The experiences that are good make gratitude easy; sometimes my faith is large enough to have gratitude in the middle of tough events! The practice helps me to finish one day and prepare for the next.
Gratitude and happiness go hand-in-hand for well-being. Take some moments to intentionally join their vibrant journey today!
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[1] Diana Butler Bass, Grateful: The subversive practice of giving thanks. Harper One, 2018. P 13
[2] Madhuleena Chowdhury, “The Neuroscience of Gratitude and Effects on the Brain.” www.positive psychology.com. https://positivepsychology.com/neuroscience-of-gratitude
[3] Genesis 13:19
[4] Luke 17:19
[5] Ephesians 5:20
[6] Chowdhury, Ibid
[7] Martin E.P. Seligman, Flourish: A visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being. Free Press, 2011, P 34
[8] Quoted in Grateful, p 192