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

[Ericka]

Interesting article. Don't have the time to help them out with a gratitude journal but I'm glad it's an opportunity.

Ericka Short
"What is right is not always popular; what is popular is not always right."

 from my iPhone 6s

> On May 24, 2016, at 11:27 AM, Paul Smith via Faith-talk <faith-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> 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
> 
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