Gratitude & Peace Go Hand-in-Hand

Gratitude is one of the surest ways to lasting peace. This is not simply a religious claim. A fairly recent interest by science is showing gratitude’s benefits in study after study. It increases psychological and physical health, increases life satisfaction, and counteracts things such as materialism, envy, narcissism, and cynicism.

While some people are naturally more adept at being grateful, it is also a skill that can be learned. In one study, researchers “postulated that the gratitude experience has four parts: noticing what we can be grateful for, thinking about why we have been given those things, feeling about what we have been given, and doing something to express appreciation…(“notice-think-feel-do” in shorthand).”[1]

Science has further revealed that reflecting on the things we’re grateful for (in writing or by thinking) can promote “prosocial” behaviors like kindness and generosity, and can even heal deep emotional wounds.

Make Gratitude a Habit

One of the surest ways to become more grateful is creating a discipline – a habit – for noticing what makes us grateful. Some people have gratitude journals, others simply dedicate time each day to think about what makes them grateful.

Louie Schwartzberg is a filmmaker who created visual meditation on gratitude set to the wisdom of Benedictine monk Brother David Steindl-Rast. If you have a few moments to experience wonder, watch this short film called Gratitude Revealed.

Reflection Questions

The full list of questions for meditation and reflection are in the Novena for Peace Ritual, Questions, & Prayers.

Today I suggest we reflect on our habit of gratitude. If we can make gratitude a daily habit, I guarantee we will increase our own peace and add to the peace that is available to the world around us.

• What am I grateful for in the last twenty-four hours?
• Can I find something to be grateful for even in the obstacles, illnesses, or trials I endure?
• Thinking about the last twenty-four hours, did I miss or reject an opportunity to see the Divine Spark in myself or another and therefore miss an opportunity to be grateful?

My prayer today is that we always recognize the sacredness of gratitude and allow it to deepen our sense of wonder and our ability to love more fully.

 

[1] Source: a white paper on The Science of Gratitude commissioned by the John Templeton Foundation and written by Summer Allen, Ph.D. at the Greater Good Science Center, the University of California at Berkley.