Momwasright!Ifyousaythankyouforeventhesmallestgiftorslightestshowofkindnessyou’llfeelhappy.GratitudesaysRobertA.EmmonsaprofessororpsychologyattheUniversityofCaliforniaisanimportantelementofhappin

　　Momwasright!Ifyousaythankyouforeventhesmallestgiftorslightestshowofkindnessyou’llfeelhappy.

　　GratitudesaysRobertA.EmmonsaprofessororpsychologyattheUniversityofCaliforniaisanimportantelementofhappiness.InhisrecenttookThanks!Emmonsusesthefirstmajorstudyongratitudetoprovemom’spoint.Inacknowledginganddevelopingthismuch-ignoredexpressionofthankfulnessheexplainshowpeoplehavebenefited----evenimprovedtheirhealth.

　　Asoneoftheleadingscholarsofthepositivepsychologymovementheadmitsgratitudemaybedifficulttoexpress.Headvisesyoutobeginbyadmittingthatlifeisgoodandfullofeventsandelementsthatmakedailyexistenceawonder.Secondrecognizethatthesourceoflife’sgoodnessismorethanjustyou.Thatsourcemaybeyourmomafriendpartnerchildcolleagueatworkorplayoranycombinationofthese.

　　Gratitudeisalwaysother-directednotesEmmons.Youcanbepleasedorangrywithyourselfandfeelguiltyaboutdoingsomethingwrongbutyoucanneverbegratefultoorforyourself.

　　Expressinggratitudeshouldn’tbeareaction;itshouldbeastateofmind.Tofeelgratefulwhenlifeisabreezeandyouhavemorethanyouneediseasy.Tofeelgratefulintimeofcrisis----angerhatredandbitterness----iseasier.Alsotoomanypeopleareawareoflife’sblessingsonlyafterthesearelost.

　　It’scrisisandchaos----dangerdiseasedisabilityanddeath----thatbringmanyindividualstorealizejusthowdependenttheyareonothers.Yetit’sthewayeachofusbeginslifeandendsit.It’stoobadthatsomanypeoplewastethosedecadesinbetweenlabouringundertheillusiontheyareself-sufficientsaysEmmons.

　　Theabundanceofvoicesexpressinggratitudefromhisstudiesofindividualswithchronichealthproblemsismany.ButEmmonsgoesbeyondhis“groundbreaking”sciencetomakehiscaseforgratitudebyincludingtheinspirationalwritingsofphilosophersnovelistsandsaintsaswellasthebeliefsofvariousreligionsandtheirrespectivescriptures.TakentogethertheseobservationsaresummedupquitenicelybyfamoushumanistAlbertSchweitzerwhosaidthesecretoflifeis“givingthanksforeverything.”

　　ToenableandembracegratitudeEmmonsencouragesthereader