Gratitude: the expression of appreciation for what one has. It is a recognition of value independent of monetary worth. Spontaneously generated from within, it is an affirmation of goodness and warmth.
In the last fifteen years a great deal of research has shown that an attitude of gratitude contributes to happiness and good mental health. The research has also shown that gratitude can be cultivated and grown. One of the most effective ways to cultivate this attitude is by keeping a gratitude journal. Experiments have shown that anyone who will take the time every night to write down three things that went right with their day, will report an improvement in their mental wellbeing within six months. However, creating this habit takes a deliberate and sustained effort.
AMERICAN CULTURE WORKS AGAINST GRATITUDE
EVERYTHING in our culture works against us feeling grateful. Every ad on the internet, billboards, and television communicates that my life could be better with new or different things. Movies, which I love watching, also communicate that my life isn’t as good as it could be. Movies always show people who are more attractive than I am, richer, leading more exciting and romantic lives than I am, and solving insurmountable problems in two hours, which I cannot do. Everywhere I look, our culture communicates that my life could be better and directs my focus to what I don’t have rather than celebrating what I do have.
I believe that anyone can cultivate an attitude of gratitude, but it is easier for some. I have always found it easy to be grateful. Part of that is my personality which I was given at birth. Another big factor was the influence of my parents. Both of my parents grew up during the Great Depression and, as teenagers, experienced the trauma of World War II. They were always talking about how lucky they were and telling us how lucky we were not to know hunger or want.
POORER CULTURES HAVE MORE GRATITUDE
However, perhaps the biggest factor in my attitude has been the
opportunity to live in other countries and travel, especially to Burundi in West Africa. Burundi is often listed as the third poorest country in the world (I have no idea how they arrive at that number, but having traveled around that small country it is easy to believe). I often think about what it would be like to live in a country without public education, virtually no medical care, limited opportunity, and where hunger is the reality for most of the population most of the time. However, it isn’t just the poverty of Burundi which has impacted me, it is the sense of joy and gratitude among the people who live there. It is ironic that people who have so little can be so grateful while so many Americans, who have so much, focus not on what they have, but on what is lacking.
PRACTICING GRATITUDE WHEN YOU CAN
This week I went to the dentist. As he was working on one tooth he commented several times to the assistant,
“Oh wow, look at that! Wow, that is deep. Oh, this isn’t good.” He stopped the procedure halfway through to explain options. We also had a long conversation at the end of the procedure about options, none of them very good. It was not a pleasant experience, but, and I am not making this up, all I could think about was how lucky I was to live in a place where I could see a dentist who is well-trained, has good equipment, is kind, and has medication to numb the area where he was working. I was also grateful he could prescribe medication to help with the pain once the local anesthesia wore off.
Every time I go to the grocery store, I marvel at the quantity and variety of food that is available. The average American supermarket has over 39,000 different items. I am not thrilled at the price of eggs or how inflation has impacted my grocery bill, but I am so thankful that I live where there are groceries for sale. I will never forget going into stores in Moscow where the shelves were empty, or of being in Burundi where grocery stores don’t even exist. Rather than complain about the price of food, I always want to be grateful that it is available.
These are just two examples from my life this week where I found myself spontaneously expressing gratitude. When I am looking, I find dozens of things every day for which to be grateful. It seems to me that having a grateful attitude is a choice we make.
Being grateful is never the denial that life is hard. Life is often unfair, and often we are faced with difficult economic choices. None of us gets everything we want all the time. But all of us get the choice to focus on what we have, which leads to gratitude, or on what we don’t have, which leads to anger and disappointment. When we, by an act of the will, choose to focus on what we have, and express our gratitude to others or silently in our hearts, we find ourselves happier.
I pray that if you have an opportunity to take a missions trip, you’ll sign up. It could change YOUR life. I also pray that this week you will make a conscious effort to focus on what you have and think of ways to express your gratitude. Perhaps some of you would even want to begin a gratitude journal.
