Gratitude

Have you ever felt like expressing gratitude ? Most people do at some point or the other in their life’s ; is it as a automatic reaction to a situation or a willing expression. Should expressing gratitude be a function of the autonomous brain - one that appears and disappears on its own ? Or should one willingly express it ?

My belief and I am willing to be proved wrong is that we all need to be aware and express gratitude on a daily basis. 

The starting point of the day for a lot of people is to say a prayer. The same people tend to forget the prayers that are said are a form of expressing gratitude- maybe the understanding of the prayer is lost and it’s just one of the things that one does during the day and it’s a tick in the box. I said my prayers for the day. For the ones that are atheist or agnostic the prayer (as in a reverence to an almighty) is something that is not done; the ones that do will most likely say it in the form of expressing gratitude to the universe. 

I am agnostic and as such do not say any prayer to an almighty ; but do realise that there is a lot of power in belief. The JCI creed says it well - belief gives meaning to human life. It’s just that as an agnostic my belief is somewhere else. Back to the subject being discussed- gratitude. 

What is so special about expressing gratitude? Researchers have found that grateful brains showed enhanced activity in two primary regions: the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). These areas have been previously associated with emotional processing, interpersonal bonding and rewarding social interactions, moral judgment, and the ability to understand the mental states of others. I.e It involves morality, connecting with others, and understanding their perspective.

mumbo-jumbo 😉 simply put a person who expresses gratitude is better placed to understand a situation and empathise with the people involved . Simple eh ? 

The Americans under stood the concept of thanksgiving and created a holiday to celebrate it. They do so even today alas as a holiday . The meaning appears to have been lost. Last week was the founders day celebration of my high school .. almost touching a 160 years now  and the simple function of thanksgiving which was web cast due to COVID is what made me think about gratitude and the different ways people express it or don’t and the impact it could have on their life.

Be thankful and express gratitude - it doesn’t matter if one believes in some higher power or doesn’t or if one is simply agnostic; it for sure will help cultivate an understanding towards  others and will help drive one towards better moral behaviour. Something that is much needed in the current times. 

As always would love feedback 

C