[Faith-talk] Daily Thought for Tuesday, May 24, 2016

[Paul Smith]

Hello and good day to most of you for the second time.  Hope that your 
day is going well, by God's matchless grace and His providential care.

Last evening I was looking through a back issue of the "University of 
California at Berkeley Wellness Letter," and I found an article of 
significant interest that I'd like to share it with you.  It has no 
name attached as author, but its title is "The Science of Gratitude," 
rendered as follows:

It makes sense to feel gratitude about good health and happiness, and 
not just on Thanksgiving.  But can gratitude itself--feeling or 
expressing it--enhance physical and emotional well-being? Gratitude may 
seem to be primarily a matter of spiritual advisers ("count your 
blessings") or motivational speakers, but it has become the focus of 
scientific study in recent years, often stemming from related research 
on happiness, stress, optimism, and the health benefits of social support.

In the latest study, in the journal _Personal _Relationships (yes, 
there is such a peer-reviewed journal), researchers found that 
expressing and perceiving gratitude helps protect marriages from the 
adverse effects of conflicts.  They interviewed 468 married people 
about the degree to which they felt appreciated by their spouse, their 
level of financial strain and the conflicts this caused, and their 
marriage quality.  Spousal gratitude was found to be the best predictor 
of marital quality and seemed to have protective effects--that is, 
spouses who consistently perceived gratitude and appreciation from 
their partner were less likely to suffer the marital instability that 
can result from marital stress and conflict (as evidenced, for 
instance, of thoughts about divorce).  And there may be a positive 
"spillover effect," as people who feel appreciated by their spouse are 
more likely to express their gratitude, leading to a feedback loop of 
more positive behaviors and attitudes (what goes around, comes around).

Of course, some people are simply more grateful than others, whether by 
choice or disposition or due to their life experiences.  But why, and 
to what effect? Can gratitude be cultivated, and should it be? Can 
simply expressing gratitude make you _feel gratitude--and feel better? 
A major resource for research on these and other questions is the 
Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley.  It is undertaking a 
three-year, $5.6 million project called "Expanding the Science and 
Practice of Gratitude" to deepen the scientific understanding of the 
role of gratitude in health, personal and relational well-being, and 
human development.  It also promotes "evidence-based practices of 
gratitude in medical, educational, and organizational settings."

For more about the Center's gratitude projects, go to
http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/expandinggratitude.
One of its projects is the Digital Gratitude Journal
(thnx4.org),
an online journal that allows users to record and share the things for 
which they're grateful.  These results will be made available to the 
research community.

And there you have today's Daily Thought article which I trust gave you 
some useful information.  By the way, just in case you were wondering, 
I have posted my thoughts and freelings up on their website.

Until tomorrow when, Lord willing another daily thought article will be 
posted, may the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob just keep us safe, 
individually and collectively, in these last days in which we live.  
Your Christian friend and brother, Paul