Have Yourself a Heaping Helping of Thanks, Or, Name Five--Just Five
In the "Science" section of yesterday's New York Times, John Tierney published a striking column. (Yes, I know. The Times again. But the "Science" section has remained for the most part uncorrupted, and John Tierney is both a wonderful writer and a libertarian. Tierney in "Science" represents, so to speak, the acceptable face of the old grey lady.) Gratitude is good, of course, but, surveying the scientific literature, Tierney finds that it's also good for us.
Thanksgiving may be the holiday from hell for nutritionists, and it produces plenty of war stories for psychiatrists dealing with drunken family meltdowns. But it has recently become the favorite feast of psychologists studying the consequences of giving thanks. Cultivating an “attitude of gratitude” has been linked to better health, sounder sleep, less anxiety and depression, higher long-term satisfaction with life and kinder behavior toward others, including romantic partners. A new study shows that feeling grateful makes people less likely to turn aggressive when provoked, which helps explain why so many brothers-in-law survive Thanksgiving without serious injury….
Start with “gratitude lite.” That’s the term used by Robert A. Emmons, of the University of California, Davis, for the technique used in his pioneering experiments he conducted along with Michael E. McCullough of the University of Miami. They instructed people to keep a journal listing five things for which they felt grateful, like a friend’s generosity, something they’d learned, a sunset they’d enjoyed.
The gratitude journal was brief — just one sentence for each of the five things — and done only once a week, but after two months there were significant effects. Compared with a control group, the people keeping the gratitude journal were more optimistic and felt happier. They reported fewer physical problems and spent more time working out.
So if I've got this right, listing my blessings will help me get to the gym in the morning.
Well, here's where I'll begin--and I never thought I'd ever have entertained such a thought, let alone expressed it in print: I'm grateful for the discipline of modern psychology.
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Jul '10
Re: Have Yourself a Heaping Helping of Thanks, Or, Name Five--Just Five
Optimist: My cup runneth over, I'm truly blessed.
Pessimist: My cup runneth over, what a mess.
May '10
Re: Have Yourself a Heaping Helping of Thanks, Or, Name Five--Just Five
1. Refried beans in a can.
2. Fresh fruit, year-around.
3. A bicycle, miles and miles of empty dirt roads, and the health to enjoy them.
4. A job where I feel genuinely useful.
5. George F. Will.
Edited on Nov 22, 2011 at 4:52pmMar '11
Re: Have Yourself a Heaping Helping of Thanks, Or, Name Five--Just Five
1. God's love
2. My family
3. My health
4. Friends
5. Ricochet
Happy Thanksgiving to all!
May '10
Re: Have Yourself a Heaping Helping of Thanks, Or, Name Five--Just Five
Thanks, Peter. Reminds me of a long article from many years ago in the National Review, a philosophical piece asserting that the fundamental conservative virtue is (you guessed it) gratitude.
(A bit of googling did not turn up the article I have in mind, but here's a piece in Commentary by Peter Wehner that makes the same point.)
May '10
Re: Have Yourself a Heaping Helping of Thanks, Or, Name Five--Just Five
Fredösphere: Thanks, Peter. Reminds me of a long article from many years ago in the National Review, a philosophical piece asserting that the fundamental conservative virtue is (you guessed it) gratitude.
(A bit of googling did not turn up the article I have in mind, but here's a piece in Commentary by Peter Wehner that makes the same point.) · Nov 22 at 4:59pm
William F. Buckley, Jr. wrote a book called Gratitude, I believe. I recall it being somewhat heterodox in that it called for compulsory national service. But I could be wrong.
Aug '10
Re: Have Yourself a Heaping Helping of Thanks, Or, Name Five--Just Five
Oh. come on. Science journalism is beyond incompetent, it is fraudulent, and the only good thing about the 2010 elections was that they delayed the nationalization of the American journalism industry and thus the legally guaranteed production of this junk. People who recorded their feelings had, among those recorded feelings, more good recorded feelings? How could they not, compared to people who weren't recording any feelings? I hate this.
When J-schools make their students study chemistry and statistics, I'll get interested.
Feb '11
Re: Have Yourself a Heaping Helping of Thanks, Or, Name Five--Just Five
1. a secure internet connection
2. a well-stacked woodpile
3. dry roof
4. papa toad is home on this rainy cold night
5. I am showered (thanks, hot water heater and electric pump!), in pajamas, my work for the day is nearly done (the laundry is never really "done," but almost all the socks in the sock basket are sorted) and I have a good book that I will be reading soon in bed.
Praise the Lord! Allelujah!
Feb '11
Re: Have Yourself a Heaping Helping of Thanks, Or, Name Five--Just Five
The following saying, or something very close to it, apparently exists in the traditional Hawaiian religion:
"A monster cannot survive in an atmosphere of gratitude"
Sep '10
Re: Have Yourself a Heaping Helping of Thanks, Or, Name Five--Just Five
1. The Gift that is My Life
2. The ability to realize that gift and from whence it came
3. Not confusing activity with accomplishment ( a well-placed nap can be just as valuable as cleaning the garage )
4. Patience
5. 26 outs, 3 balls, 2 strikes and The St. Louis Cardinals.
May '10
Re: Have Yourself a Heaping Helping of Thanks, Or, Name Five--Just Five
Only 5? In no particular order
1. My Health
2. My Loving Family
3. My Job
4. My Friends
5. My creativity
Aug '10
Re: Have Yourself a Heaping Helping of Thanks, Or, Name Five--Just Five
Mama Toad:
5. I am showered (thanks, hot water heater and electric pump!), in pajamas, my work for the day is nearly done (the laundry is never really "done," but almost all the socks in the sock basket are sorted) and I have a good book that I will be reading soon in bed.
Good one, Mama. Think you'll get a kick out of this:
I'm grateful for all the toads in our garden. I absolutely love them. Saw the first one on Easter of this year.
To round my list out:
The smell of the last roses on a stormy late November day.
The smell of the forest floor in fall.
The patience others have with me, especially my husband.
People who make me laugh.
Modern medicine.
Mama, do you know where the missing socks go? The oddest thing is that when my husband does laundry (another thing to be grateful for!), he comes back with socks that, as far as I can tell, weren't our socks to begin with.
We have a whole drawer full of mateless socks. I think I shall have to write a song about it. The Lone Sock Tango.
Aug '10
Re: Have Yourself a Heaping Helping of Thanks, Or, Name Five--Just Five
What I read was:
That doesn't seem to me like "people who recorded their feelings had, among those recorded feelings, more good recorded feelings... compared to people who weren't recording any feelings".
Lots of science journalism is bad, I grant you. And lots of modern psychology could be viewed as redundant: a mere confirmation of what religion and folk wisdom has been teaching all along (like that gratitude is good for you). But why be a hater over this particular piece? :-)
Feb '11
Re: Have Yourself a Heaping Helping of Thanks, Or, Name Five--Just Five
Midget Faded Rattlesnake
Mama Toad:
Mama, do you know where the missing socks go? The oddest thing is that when my husband does laundry (another thing to be grateful for!), he comes back with socks that, as far as I can tell, weren't our socks to begin with.
Nov 23 at 6:29am
Well, I found three this weekend when I used a poker to get the dust out from under the dryer. I also found 12 legos, one model Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang, three Mardi Gras coins, an old shopping list, a tub toy (our washer/dryer is next to the tub), and enough dust to re-create Adam.
With eight people living in my house, sorting socks is my lot in life. The children view it as purgatory, but I tell them about MY childhood, when I had three sisters and two brothers, all of whom went with me to parochial school where we wore navy blue socks. That's 12 socks each day, 60 socks a week... My mother would only let us watch TV if we sorted, folded, and ironed the laundry, including all our peter-pan-collar blouses and my dad's work shirts.
Feb '11
Re: Have Yourself a Heaping Helping of Thanks, Or, Name Five--Just Five
I have a small trugs-style tub that I throw socks in as I fold laundry, to deal with at the end of the folding session (or to assign to any child who is becoming annoying because of lack of anything to do) so any unmatched socks die a slow death in there. I try to get rid of them after a couple of years of living in the bin, but just this weekend I found several matches to socks that I thought were permanent loners! (under the dryer, of course)
And thanks, Midget Faded Rattlesnake, for your good words about toads. They are truly a great blessing. A beautiful creature, perfectly designed for what it does. Our family name sounds like toad, or like the hebrew for thank you, and we have a whole grateful, amphibious vibe going in our family.
Edited on Nov 23, 2011 at 6:48amAug '10
Re: Have Yourself a Heaping Helping of Thanks, Or, Name Five--Just Five
Mama Toad
Well, I found three this weekend when I used a poker to get the dust out from under the dryer. I also found 12 legos, one model Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang, three Mardi Gras coins, an old shopping list, a tub toy (our washer/dryer is next to the tub), and enough dust to re-create Adam.
Wow. Sounds like you could write a Christmas carol about that. You don't even need a partridge in a pear tree.
Mama Toad
With eight people living in my house, sorting socks is my lot in life. The children view it as purgatory...
Funny how that works. Our mom gave us a choice: we could either sort the socks, or fold the rest of the laundry. Whoever ended up with the socks always felt like the loser.
Mama Toad
... My mother would only let us watch TV if we sorted, folded, and ironed the laundry, including all our peter-pan-collar blouses and my dad's work shirts.
Smart mom!
Jul '11
Re: Have Yourself a Heaping Helping of Thanks, Or, Name Five--Just Five
1 - My Family (the one I chose. I left the one I was born into behind)
2 - My Country (I am an immigrant - the legal variety. I choose to live here.)
3 - Podcasts. Work would be dull without it.
4 - Modern Technology. (Who thought a search engine could create > $billion economy? And where else would I find like minded people?)
5 - Future. I look forward to it!
BTW - Since I have a degree in science, I could preface this with "Scientists Say".
Edited on Nov 23, 2011 at 12:10pmJan '11
Re: Have Yourself a Heaping Helping of Thanks, Or, Name Five--Just Five
1. A loving and embracing family.
2. A new and more rewarding place of work.
3. Living in a (still) free society and without fear of the government.
4. Having enough to pay the bills and some left over for leisure and entertainment.
5. A world of entertainment and information at my fingertips thanks to the internet (this includes Ricochet).
Oct '10
Re: Have Yourself a Heaping Helping of Thanks, Or, Name Five--Just Five
God's love My family My church Liberty A new day