GRATITUDE

In this time of COVID-19 an article about gratitude seems laughable. Instead, as we are each sheltering at home and limiting our social contact, it is easy to feel frustrated and depressed about the entire world and about our own world in particular. This brings to mind a speaker who spoke to the Renaissance Society at California State University, Sacramento, in March 2019. Dr. Robert A. Emmons, a professor at University of California Davis has spent the last 20 years scientifically studying the effect of gratitude on the well-being of individuals. Perhaps some of the things he shared will help put a different perspective on our current challenges.

Gratitude is an affirmation of the goodness around us and the recognition that this goodness is sourced outside of ourselves. Think of and be grateful for the grocery store staff and the medical personnel who are currently putting themselves at risk to help others.

Gratitude works emotionally, psychologically, and physically. It increases our emotional well-being. Studies show that grateful people get along better with others, they are less depressed and they are more resilient to trauma. Although gratitude won't make COVID-19 pass us by, it does have the power to help us heal, to energize, and to change our lives.

Medically speaking a person can practice gratitude without negative side effects. Research has shown that people who keep a gratitude journal have reduced blood pressure, experience better sleep, and are more likely to exercise and less likely to smoke. Gratitude leads to lower levels of inflammation in heat disease patients.

Why does gratitude work? Intentional gratitude amplifies the good in our lives, it reduces the bad in our lives and rescues us from negativity, and it builds trust in our relationships with others.

Gratitude doesn't come easily or naturally. We have to be intentional as we develop an attitude of gratitude. A concrete way to begin is by keeping a Gratitude Journal. Gratitude is POTENT in relationships; it also provides a good acronym for beginning our journals. Each day consider:

P - People who made a difference for us today
O - Opportunities we had today
T - Things: material goods such as home, transportation, food
E - Experiences we had today
N - Nature we can enjoy (some include [God] as part of nature)
T - Thoughts and our ability for reasoning, reflection, recall, awareness, recognition

If we choose to look at the world through grateful eyes, it will never be the same again. A grateful lens alters our gaze. Where we used to see burdens we can see some blessings, we used to see problems but now we see potential, adversities can now become opportunities. With Parkinson's Disease, this is a real challenge, but there are blessings and opportunities--find them and cling to them with gratitude.*


*Reprinted from The Parkinson Path PANC Newsletter Spring 2020.