The quality of gratitude is something people can cultivate during their lives in order to make everything around them brighter.
Creating a personal aura of gratitude and displaying it through one's lifetime leaves an intangible legacy. Sharing gratitude doesn't cost a penny and has far-reaching positive consequences that have tremendous impact on the lives of our fellow man.
Gratitude is being thankful, showing appreciation and returning kindness. It seems like a pretty easy thing to put into our practices in everyday life.
A flag-raising was held at Monroe Clinic Monday for organ donation awareness. In order for someone to donate all of the organs a human is able - eight - they have to pass away. Yet those eight organs can save or positively alter the lives of others.
Monroe Clinic Chaplain Linda O'Leary said the flag-raising was "very moving" as three organ recipients shared their gratitude.
"There are 140,000 people (in America) looking for an organ, and if one person is a donor, they can save eight people's lives," O'Leary said. "The event was reflecting on organ donation and getting people to consider (becoming a donor)."
In her work at the clinic, O'Leary sees expressions of gratitude as a healing thing.
"It's amazing how someone's attitude of gratitude can get them through difficult times," O'Leary said. "People use perspective. They look at their situation and say, 'It could be worse.'"
There are people who may never fully understand gratitude, and perhaps that's because they were never taught to express gratitude or have been shown little gratitude in their lives.
One of the easiest and most beneficial ways to show gratitude is by becoming a volunteer.
"Through an act of doing, you're giving to somebody," O'Leary said of volunteerism. "And the volunteer is reaping a reward in the process of doing good."
Looking in hindsight, we can all see moments in our lives when we could have expressed more gratitude. Think of the teachers, coaches, volunteer leaders, public servants, friends and family members, who have done things for us, and perhaps in our oversight or inability to recognize their contribution, we've parted without giving the proper thanks.
The best way to honor them and show gratitude is to pay that thankfulness forward by endeavoring to do the same - be a teacher, coach, volunteer or simply a good friend.
It is physically healthy to take time to think of the positive things that have occurred in your life and have gratitude for them. It is an affirmation of life to recognize that what you've done, or what you're doing, is helping others.
According to the Corporation for National and Community Service, volunteers experience pride, satisfaction and accomplishment. There's research that shows individuals actually receive health benefits from volunteering.
Volunteers, especially those who give a considerable amount of time (100 hours per year), are most likely to exhibit positive health outcomes from their efforts, according to the CNCS.
The National Institutes of Health did a study in 2009 that showed the hypothalamus in the human brain is activated when we feel gratitude or display acts of kindness. The hypothalamus regulates our appetite, sleep, temperature and metabolism.
It wasn't too many years ago when people bought into the concept of "The Law of Attraction." This "law" basically stated that the universe will provide you with whatever is the main focus of your concentration. Many people, instead of looking to help their fellow man, focused on material possessions. They dropped their friends who weren't wealthy or physically attractive. They concentrated on money.
I talked with an acquaintance, who is part of a community where I used to live. Many people in this community bought into the material side of the law of attraction. He said the years where the law of attraction was at its height were horrible for friendships. He said those who focused on wealth received the woes that come with greed. Trying to practice the law of attraction without kindness and selflessness is empty, he said.
Dr. Neil Farber summed up his "Truth about the Law of Attraction" in an article in Psychology Today in 2016, stating that it simply doesn't exist. He went on to summarize 14 reasons why it was new-age psychobabble. Not everyone agreed. People who are meditating on money or their myopic view of a perfect life don't want their dream derailed.
Gratitude comes from within one's self. Gratitude is part of the Golden Rule - do to others what you want them to do to you. Having gratitude is like having an overflowing account of thankfulness, from which you can continually dole out unlimited amounts of love and kindness.
- Matt Johnson is publisher of the Monroe Times. His column is published Wednesdays.
Creating a personal aura of gratitude and displaying it through one's lifetime leaves an intangible legacy. Sharing gratitude doesn't cost a penny and has far-reaching positive consequences that have tremendous impact on the lives of our fellow man.
Gratitude is being thankful, showing appreciation and returning kindness. It seems like a pretty easy thing to put into our practices in everyday life.
A flag-raising was held at Monroe Clinic Monday for organ donation awareness. In order for someone to donate all of the organs a human is able - eight - they have to pass away. Yet those eight organs can save or positively alter the lives of others.
Monroe Clinic Chaplain Linda O'Leary said the flag-raising was "very moving" as three organ recipients shared their gratitude.
"There are 140,000 people (in America) looking for an organ, and if one person is a donor, they can save eight people's lives," O'Leary said. "The event was reflecting on organ donation and getting people to consider (becoming a donor)."
In her work at the clinic, O'Leary sees expressions of gratitude as a healing thing.
"It's amazing how someone's attitude of gratitude can get them through difficult times," O'Leary said. "People use perspective. They look at their situation and say, 'It could be worse.'"
There are people who may never fully understand gratitude, and perhaps that's because they were never taught to express gratitude or have been shown little gratitude in their lives.
One of the easiest and most beneficial ways to show gratitude is by becoming a volunteer.
"Through an act of doing, you're giving to somebody," O'Leary said of volunteerism. "And the volunteer is reaping a reward in the process of doing good."
Looking in hindsight, we can all see moments in our lives when we could have expressed more gratitude. Think of the teachers, coaches, volunteer leaders, public servants, friends and family members, who have done things for us, and perhaps in our oversight or inability to recognize their contribution, we've parted without giving the proper thanks.
The best way to honor them and show gratitude is to pay that thankfulness forward by endeavoring to do the same - be a teacher, coach, volunteer or simply a good friend.
It is physically healthy to take time to think of the positive things that have occurred in your life and have gratitude for them. It is an affirmation of life to recognize that what you've done, or what you're doing, is helping others.
According to the Corporation for National and Community Service, volunteers experience pride, satisfaction and accomplishment. There's research that shows individuals actually receive health benefits from volunteering.
Volunteers, especially those who give a considerable amount of time (100 hours per year), are most likely to exhibit positive health outcomes from their efforts, according to the CNCS.
The National Institutes of Health did a study in 2009 that showed the hypothalamus in the human brain is activated when we feel gratitude or display acts of kindness. The hypothalamus regulates our appetite, sleep, temperature and metabolism.
It wasn't too many years ago when people bought into the concept of "The Law of Attraction." This "law" basically stated that the universe will provide you with whatever is the main focus of your concentration. Many people, instead of looking to help their fellow man, focused on material possessions. They dropped their friends who weren't wealthy or physically attractive. They concentrated on money.
I talked with an acquaintance, who is part of a community where I used to live. Many people in this community bought into the material side of the law of attraction. He said the years where the law of attraction was at its height were horrible for friendships. He said those who focused on wealth received the woes that come with greed. Trying to practice the law of attraction without kindness and selflessness is empty, he said.
Dr. Neil Farber summed up his "Truth about the Law of Attraction" in an article in Psychology Today in 2016, stating that it simply doesn't exist. He went on to summarize 14 reasons why it was new-age psychobabble. Not everyone agreed. People who are meditating on money or their myopic view of a perfect life don't want their dream derailed.
Gratitude comes from within one's self. Gratitude is part of the Golden Rule - do to others what you want them to do to you. Having gratitude is like having an overflowing account of thankfulness, from which you can continually dole out unlimited amounts of love and kindness.
- Matt Johnson is publisher of the Monroe Times. His column is published Wednesdays.
