Originating from the Latin word “gratus” to the Middle English “gratitude,” its meaning is to demonstrate appreciation and thankfulness. Over the past few decades, much has been talked about and written in literature about engaging in gratitude as a strategy for enhancing our own mental well-being.
Happify Daily, a science-based business solutions and inspirational website sponsored by CIGNA, wrote about the many benefits of practicing gratitude including experiencing positive feelings, sleeping better and having stronger immune systems. This can all come about through allowing yourself to pay attention and take notice of the things and people you are grateful for.
Gratitude can start with the acknowledgement that life is good and rewarding. The bountiful emotion that life is abundant makes a person feel grateful towards loved ones, colleagues, animals, and Mother Nature. Reciprocity is not needed. The person to whom you have showed gratitude and thanked will likely pass it forward, potentially generating more positivity.
It’s not easy to feel gratitude all the time. The ability to possess gratitude is, by its very basic nature, transitory and requires frequent adaptation to persist in the individual committed to enjoying its benefits.
Life is ever evolving and changing in, for and around us. Each of us can explore new experiences and opportunities to transform ourselves into more whole individuals. All we need to do is seize the day and be grateful whenever we get the opportunity to enhance our own well-being and that of others through gratitude.
