Be grateful for your life,
Every detail of it,
And your face will come to shine like a sun,
And everyone who sees it
Will be made glad and peaceful.
Persist in gratitude,
And you will become
One with the Sun of Love,
And Love will shine through you its all-healing joy.”
—Rumi
There is no better time of year that cultivates gratitude of the present moment more than the shiny new first day of the calendar year. For many of us, January 1st beckons with vast possibility as a time for new beginnings, big dreams, and lofty goals. Allow gratefulness to guide your resolutions this year, bringing motivation, rooted in appreciation and celebration.
Gratitude is the quality, long valued by ancient moral philosophies, of being thankful, appreciative, and ready to return kindness. You can practice gratitude by pausing to acknowledge and appreciate all the good in yourself and your surroundings. Thanking yourself, thanking others, and thanking the universe will help you achieve a stable mind-body-spirit.
A plethora of studies over the past decade have shown that being grateful will improve both your mental and physical health. Being thankful has significant correlations with the central nervous system that we are just beginning to discover, including greater areas of grey matter in the brain and the release of dopamine and serotonin neurotransmitters, which are your “feel good” chemical messengers. We can control our consciousness, and our feelings with attention and intention.
Gratefulness can benefit your body through improved immune and cardiovascular health, better sleep, more happiness, increased productivity, deeper emotional awareness, and enhanced participation and adherence to exercise and healthy lifestyle choices. Practicing gratitude also decreases negative emotions such as envy, anger, anxiety, and depression. So, take a deep, mindful breath andremind yourself how grateful you are for everything in your life! Your spirit will thank you with improved self-esteem, self-satisfaction, and vitality, and the universe will reward you with good health.
Happy New Year!!!