By Kay Leaman, Health Architect
As I was pondering what topic I should cover, the word ‘Thankfulness’ kept coming to mind. So, I decided to check into it. Did you know that our mindset can greatly affect our health? Did you also know that our emotions affect our mindset?
The first thing I wanted to clarify is the difference between thankfulness and gratitude. Most of us have heard of the importance of gratitude, practicing it by utilizing a gratitude journal and expressing our gratitude to others. For instance, I am grateful for the cooler temps and lower humidity levels, but what am I thankful for?
Gratitude is a general appreciation of life. Thankfulness is a response to a particular event or experience. And, if we want an authentically positive mindset, we must practice both.
It’s easy to be thankful for things like your neighbor watching over your home while you’re away (Grateful that you have a home that keeps you safe and dry.) But what about the difficult times; an event that changes your life or a struggle that you’ve been dealing with for a while. Let’s face it, life is hard, fun, happy, sad, gut wrenching, belly laughing, painful, uplifting and overall amazing. The family we’ve been born in to can itself be a roller coaster ride, especially during the holidays and at weddings or funerals. The emotions these events evoke—what can I say?
This season is a great opportunity to set aside some time and think about what you are thankful for. I cared for my mom for several years. It was an extremely hard season for me on several fronts. Now, as I look back on it, I am thankful because of what it taught me. It seems that hard seasons always teach us more about life, ourselves and others. I’m grateful for the support I received from my friends and family during this time, but it’s becoming thankful that has been a journey all on its own. That’s where the healing takes place; it’s in the journey of becoming thankful for that so very hard chapter of life.
What can take the place if thankfulness isn’t sought after? Maybe resentment, anger or unforgiveness. All of these can have an effect on our health such as high blood pressure or other cardiovascular issues, difficulty losing weight, not to mention the effect it has in our personal relationships.
Choosing to be grateful and becoming thankful for the experiences we’ve had is what makes life a little sweeter. Know that sometimes this is easy and sometimes it’s a process. The trick is, are we willing to do what it takes to get it?
Health and life are interconnected. What we eat, our lifestyles, what we think, how we look at life; it all plays a part from we were to where we’re going. So, how is your emotional health this season? How is your acceptance meter this season? What about your other meters? How have they fared this past year?
Personally, I don’t always like my answers, but being honest with myself isn’t always easy. The thing is that I’m growing. And growing moves me to being healthier than I was last year. Being grateful gives me warm fuzzies. Being thankful makes my heart grow and my eyes water. Without thankfulness my world wouldn’t be as rich as it’s becoming.
Lastly, let others support you. We are too quick to turn down help robbing others of their share of the thankfulness journey. We all need support, we all need love and we all need each other to make this life shine.
Have an amazing Thanksgiving season. Hear’s to Health!
HealthyDay HealthyLife | succeed.hdhl@gmail.com
