Saturday, April 7, 2018

A to Z: Gratitude

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Gratitude /ɡradəˌt(y)o͞od/
noun
the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.

There's an online gratitude list where i post something every day for which i am grateful, and i try to think of several things to be thankful for each day.

As i've practiced this, i've noticed it has a positive benefit in many ways.

Now, i am thankful to find out that it's not all just in my head.  There's a book called The Gratitude Diaries, by Janice Kaplan, and i highly recommend that everyone should read it.

Reading this book, i am grateful and thankful to find that:

Being grateful to your spouse can improve your relationship, because most people return gratitude with more gratitude.

You can teach children to be thankful by both modeling and showing them how fortunate they are.

While you cannot change some things, like the weather, quitting complaining about things you cannot control makes life more pleasant and adds to life satisfaction.

Stuff won't make you happy, but being grateful for what you have will help you get off of the treadmill of always wanting more.

You may think you would be happier if you  had more money, but if you aren't thankful for what you have, you won't be happier with more.

Gratitude for where you are does not have to mean you want to stay there, being thankful can increase your ambition while making you happier on the way to where you are going.

Emotions affect us physically, and working to be more thankful and grateful has a positive affect on health.

Being exposed to nature and exercising can boost gratitude and thus well-being.

Taking time before you eat to be thankful for what is in front of you, and filling up on both gratitude and food that makes you feel grateful that you ate it (not bloated and sickly) will help you maintain a healthier weight.

Gratitude makes it easier to get through the hard times.

Acting on our gratitude by paying it forward is a wonderful way to approach life.

Being thankful increases our joy in life.

A big Thank You to the member of our Ladies Circle who introduced me to this book!

Josie Two Shoes gracefully hosts the Ten Things of Thankful blog, and i am very grateful to her for the work she puts into it.  With so many benefits to being thankful, why not make your own list and link up?



   
   
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To enjoy more blogs participating in the A to Z Challenge, click here.

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Today is:

Cherry Blossom Festival of Greater Philadelphia -- Philadelphia, PA, US (in conjunction with the Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia; through the 15th)

Elmira Maple Syrup Festival -- Elmira, ON, Canada (fun for the whole family, and delicious, too!)

Every Day is Tag Day™ -- make sure your pet has an up to date tag or microchip, just in case!    

Genocide Memorial Day -- Rwanda

Goddess Karna's Day -- Asatru/Slavic Pagan Calendar (goddess of crying and wailing)

Historic Pendleton Spring Jubilee -- Pendleton, SC, US (through tomorrow)

International Beaver Day -- celebrating the species that restores valuable wetlands   www.beaversww.org

International Pillow Fight Day -- yes, really, and it is lots of fun   

International Snailpaper Day -- relax today with a hard copy of a regular, old fashioned newspaper

Kasama Tsutsuji Matsuri -- Kasama, Japan (Azalea festival attended by about 3 million people through May 6)

Katori Jingu Otaue-sai -- Sawara, Chiba Prefecture, Japan (rice planting festival; through tomorrow)

Metric System Day -- officially adopted in France on this day in 1795

Motherhood and Beauty Day -- Armenia (day the Armenian Orthodox Church celebrated the Annunciation; it is the only Church to celebrate it on this day, which is also observed as Mother's Day in this country)

National Beer Day -- US (unofficial, the celebration of the end of Prohibition)

National Coffee Cake Day

National Health Day -- Kiribati

No Housework Day/Let Someone Else Clean Day -- sponsored by Wellcat Holidays, enjoy this one!

Pandia -- Ancient Greek Calendar (a festival of Zeus; date approximate)

Pesach/Passover -- Judaism (ends at sundown tonight)

Sheikh Abeid Amani Karume Day -- Tanzania

St. Saint John Baptist de La Salle's Day (Patron of educators, school principals, teachers)

Tangible Karma™ Day -- set aside an hour today to become purposefully aware of the needs of someone around you, and to fulfill that need; because giving feels as good as receiving    

Tater Day -- Benton, KY, US (old fashioned family fun centered around the sweet potato, with a parade, a mule pull, a carnival and more; through Monday)

Women's Day -- Mozambique

World Catfish Festival -- Belzoni, MS, US (a family friendly festival celebrating this ever-popular fish)

World Health Day -- UN


Anniversaries Today:

World Health Organization is founded, 1948
Prague University is chartered by Charles IV, the first university in central Europe, 1348


Birthdays Today:

Russell Crowe, 1964
Anthony Drew "Tony" Dorsett, 1954
Jackie Chan, 1954
Janis Ian, 1951
John Oates, 1948
Gerhard Schroeder, 1944
Francis Coppola, 1939
David Frost, 1939
William Hodding Carter III, 1935
Wayne Rogers, 1933
Daniel Ellsberg, 1931
James Garner, 1928
Ravi Shankar, 1920
Billie Holiday, 1915
Walter Winchell, 1897
Bronislaw Malinowski, 1884
John Joseph McGraw, 1873
David Grandison Fairchild, 1869
W.K. Kellogg, 1860
Walter Camp, 1859
William Ellery Channing, 1780
William Wordsworth, 1770
St. Francis Xavier, 1506


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"South Pacific"(Musical), 1949
"Monsieur Beaucaire"(Operetta), 1919
Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major,"Eroica"(Beethoven Op. 55), 1805


Today in History:

Attila's Huns plunder Metz, in northern France, 451
Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian I issues the first draft of the Corpus Juris Civilis, the basis for much civil law even today, 529
A crowd in Florence, Italy, storms the Convent of San Marco, demanding Fra Savonarola be turned over as they rebelled against his Bonfires of the Vanities and interference with trade, 1498
Ferdinand Magellan arrives at Cebu, 1521
Michael Cardozo becomes the first Jewish lawyer in Brazil, 1645
American pioneers found Marietta, Ohio, as the first permanent settlement of the new Northwest Territory, 1788
France adopts the meter as the standard measure of length, 1795
The Mississippi Territory is established, 1798
English chemist John Walker invents wooden matches, 1827
Thomas D'Arcy McGee, one of the Canadian Fathers of Confederation is assassinated by the Irish, in one of the few Canadian political assassinations, and the only one of a federal politician, 1868 
Nebraska establishes an 8 hour work day, 1891
Texas Oil Company (Texaco) is formed, 1902
An eruption of Mt. Vesuvius devastates Naples, 1906
Dr. K. Winfield Ney performs the first brain tumor operation under a local anesthesia, at Beth Israel Hospital, 1923
Using phone lines, the first long distance television image is sent, of Commerce Secretary Herbert Hoover, from Washington, D.C. to NYC, 1927
Booker T. Washington becomes the first African-American depicted on a postage stamp in the US, 1940
Syria is officially recognized as independent from France, 1946
Dwight D. Eisenhower gives his "domino theory" speech, 1954
Spain relinquishes its protectorate in Morocco, 1956
IBM announces the System/360, 1964
The publication of RFC1 marks the symbolic birth of the Internet, 1969
Development of the neutron bomb is canceled by President Jimmy Carter, 1978
During STS-6, astronauts Story Musgrave and Don Peterson perform the first space shuttle spacewalk, 1983
Mars Odyssey is launched, 2001
Mass protests begin across Moldova under the belief that results from the parliamentary election are fraudulent, 2009
Following the death of Bingu wa Mutharika, Joyce Banda becomes President of Malawi, 2012
Longest-ever captured python found on Penang in Malaysia (26ft/8m), 2016

10 comments:

  1. Gratitude ia a gift which keeps on giving. And giving.

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  2. Mimi,

    Great post on gratitude. You're right on all these points, I especially can relate to how gratitude gets us through hard times. It makes you appreciate the good times all the more,too. I see these young people who think their entitled to everything and don't have a real ounce of gratitude for what they have. They are the ones who crumble when the world dishes them a hard blow and it's sad, really sad. We need to pray for this younger generation. They really are messed up. Thanks for sharing and yes, I'm grateful every single day for every thing in my life the good and the less than good because I know someone somewhere has it really bad. Have a blessed weekend, my friend!

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  3. What an excellent philosophy as we struggle along!

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  4. I'm adding the book to my reading list. I imagine sharing it with lots of friends along with a diary of blank pages. I began a gratitude journal during some stressful times a few years ago and it changed my life. I'm thankful every day.

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  5. Thank you for this recommendation, I just went online to my library and ordered it up. I try to always be thankful, but some reminders are always good. XO

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  6. Gratitude is a wonderful thing to exercise. I am so thankful for all the little things in my life. Like heat in the winter, cool air in the summer. Clean water to drink. A warm bed to sleep.

    I love your thankful posts, but you post them every single day of the year. That's wonderful.

    Have a fabulous day and weekend. ♥

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  7. I haven't read that book, but I agree with the ideas you shared from it!

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  8. As always, your post is useful and, even more importantly (imo) engaging. Reading through your post reinforces those practices I may already have and suggests others (that might enhance my current practice.)
    Good TToT

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  9. Thank you so much for the book recommendation and for sharing these excellent points.

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  10. I am especially grateful and thankful for nature this week.

    :-)

    Filling up, both on food and on gratitude.

    :-)

    Lovely post.

    ReplyDelete

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