Christmas Countdown

I have the best mother ever! Every Christmas she does a special countdown to Christmas for us kids. It's similar to those chocolate boxes you get at Christmas, except that she buys us a little gift for each day and so you get to open a new gift each day (yes I'm spoiled!). This year, she has been writing us little notes in each of the boxes about life or words of wisdom. Anyhow, this one was good and I just wanted to share it.

Gratitude: It's good for you

Learning how to be thankful isn't just good for your soul - it's healthy too. At the U of California, psychologist R Emmon's research proved that the more grateful a test subject is, the healthier he or she tends to be. Among the people he examined, those who did daily thankfulness exercises slept better, had fewer illnesses and felt more spiritually connected. They exercised regularly, and had a healthier diet. They also had more mental alertness, determination, attentiveness, optimism and physical vitality than others. The key is asking yourself these 3 questions regularly.

1. What have I received today? The three important categories are: people, material things, and intangibles like friendship. We live with such wealth, that we simply expect the food life.

2. What did I give? If we've had a good day, we have already received more than we have given. Have you helped anyone else have that good day?

3. What troubles have I caused? Reliving less-than-spiritually guided moments won't feel great, but it will help you to realize that you're in a state of grace and truly blessed. That recognition is the deepest sense of gratitude you'll ever have. It will be one of the greatest gifts you'll ever get. It doesn't come in a fancy box, go out of style, or break, but lasts forever and costs absolutely nothing. It revolutionizes your life.
J.B. Chown