Gratitude

I strongly believe that Thanksgiving, as a tradition and cultural ritual, has gravely mishandled two sacred parts of this world: turkeys and the concept of gratitude.
See Free Birds for more information about turkeys.
 
Gratitude is a deeply misunderstood emotion. It’s inextricably linked to the holiday season, which is linked to family, which is linked to complication. November is the only time we are taught to actively acknowledge our thankfulness and appreciation for the world around us. So as Thanksgiving approaches and the number of people demanding an insightful answer to “What are you grateful for?” rises, consider this blogpost preparation. Preparation and a potential spell book for science-based magic. 
 
But what is gratitude? We annually encounter it as light expression that is often demanded of us from people who make it difficult to feel it in any capacity at all. But it is so much more than an expression— it is an emotion, a virtue, a habit, a skill, an attitude, and a complex cognitive phenomenon. It is difficult to define but has been recognized to reflect elements such as grace, presence, love, health, food, nature, beauty, and life in a state of fulfillment. It is to enjoy and value the trajectory of these elements more than the end they may bring. It is the vessel for happiness, a way of life, and for me and (arguably) Aristotle, it is the point of life.
 
Most will say habitually that they are grateful for their friends and family. Many of us will likely say this in front of them very soon. But I encourage you to do more than express your thankfulness for your loved ones. I encourage you to take gratitude as an annual prompted expression of love and turn it into a lifelong skill.
 
Gratitude as a skill can be utilized in many forms, but I personally associate gratitude with a type of meditation. It is the act of simultaneously practicing self-love and love for others, love for all as one. It is rewriting the narrative, a tool to change our perspective, and its practice has been scientifically proven time and time again to be one of the most productive ways to lead happier lives. Cheers, Aristotle!
 
There are hundreds of ways to practice gratitude. While noticing our love and thankfulness for the world around us and all its beautiful particularities, we may find the most rewarding form of gratitude be through vocal expression. An exercise for the outspoken may be to tell a member of your community why you are thankful that they exist. When we start to look around, we might find we have a reason to feel gratitude for everyone’s existence, not just our loved ones.
For the introspective ones, I find forms of mindfulness to be great ways to practice gratitude. In our world of constant connectivity, it is so difficult to slow down and so easy to overlook how much we have to be grateful for. I like to slow down while I walk and while I eat, taking time to notice what would otherwise go unnoticed. Gratitude is gratitude whether we are thanking a divine power or Mother Nature. Or even just ourselves.
And finally, for the visual learners, keeping a gratitude journal is a tried-and-true method. A 2022 study found that gratitude writing was a better resource for dealing with stress and stressful life events than traditional expressive writing methods. A gratitude journal is also known to aid decision making and memory. If you don’t know where to start, check out these prompts.   
 
Now that you know how to practice gratitude, allow me to convince you why you should.
 
Gratitude is directly linked to the health of our brains and bodies (Hazlett et al., 2021). It has a healing effect on us, offering endless health benefits from an increase in gray matter volume in our brains (Zahn et al., 2014) to improvements in our immune system (Zahn et al., 2008). Gray matter is where the brain processes cognitive functioning tasks, perception, speech, and learning. Gratitude also activates the reward center in our brains, possessing the ability alter the way we see ourselves and the way we see the world (Fox et al. 2015). Maybe that’s why we practice it during the holidays.
 
But in all seriousness, gratitude is a magic and a medicine within everyone’s reach. But don’t just practice it in the pursuit of happiness, practice it in the pursuit of a more loving, positive world.
Because the happier you are, the happier your loved ones are! And that’s what it’s all about. Cited.
 
 
 
 
 
Thank you for reading, I appreciate you. 


Kate Albert