Embracing Gratitude

I’m pretty devoted to sitting down with a good hardback book.  I own an electronic bookreader and I read there, too, especially when I travel so I don’t have to load up my luggage with books.  But there’s something to be said for pouring through the pages of hard copy.  Is it weird that I even like the smell of books?   It brings back childhood memories of when the Scholastic book order would arrive and I opened that first new book and the scent of paper and ink floated into the air. 

However, in the past couple years I have also embraced listening to podcasts and Ted Talks.  I like just tuning into the audio and letting my vision take a break.  It also allows for more efficient multi-tasking which the left hemisphere of my brain appreciates! 

Sometimes I’ll open YouTube or Spotify and let one recording roll into the next. Yesterday I followed a rabbit trail that started with a Ted Talk from Dr. Ryan Duffy entitled “Giving Unexpected Gratitude to Those Who Need It Most”.  He teaches college students about how our physical bodies are affected when we practice gratitude.  On the science side of things, taking on an attitude of gratitude rewires the brain, producing dopamine and serotonin, which as you may already know, make us feel great.  The side effects are numerous:  increased happiness, strengthened resiliency, reduced depression, blood pressure reduction, increased energy, less chronic pain, better sleep, increased empathy. Sounds good, right?

The next talk that auto-played was called “Gratitude” by Louis Schwartzberg.  For the past 30 years, Louis has created time-lapse photographs of flowers blooming.  Every single day, 24 hours a day, for the past 30 years he’s had his camera rolling.  He put together a beautiful and inspiring video that closed out his talk.  My heart swelled just listening to a child and an older gentlemen speak from the perspective of gratitude and as the photographic images flashed on the screen, the message came home so clearly. 

Lastly came a talk by Hailey Bartholomew called “The 365 Grateful Project”.  I’ve heard from a number of sources and I’m sure you have, too, how keeping a daily “Gratitude Journal” for even a few days can really contribute to a feeling of overall well-being.  Hailey is a talented photographer and she took the journal idea one step further.  She resolved to take one picture per day for one year of things she was grateful for.  When the year was over, she had a beautiful photo book and a complete transformation of heart and mind.  With how great phone cameras are now, this would be pretty simple to do and just looking for something to take a photo of would be a reminder to be grateful every single day.

Whether we are glass half empty or glass half full people, embracing gratitude is something we can all do and benefit from.  Maybe we, like Hailey, can transform our hearts and minds in a very good way.  As I write this, I am feeling very grateful for all who read my words and offer so much encouragement to keep writing.  If what I write touches even one person, then I am grateful beyond measure.  What are you grateful for today?