Elementary Education: November 2009

Secret Formula to Good Health

By Lorene Hanley Duquin

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, you may be surprised to discover that cultivating an attitude of gratitude in yourself and in your children has wonderful benefits and great coping mechanisms for life. For example:

• Gratitude is an antidote to jealousy. When you start to compare what you have with what other people have, thinking about all the things in your life that you’re grateful for chases away the green monster of envy.
• Gratitude is an antidote to worry. When you are worried about what might happen tomorrow, thinking about all the things you’re grateful for today pushes aside fear of the future.
• Gratitude is an antidote to insecurity. When you feel as if you’re not good enough, thinking about your God-given gifts and talents helps you to see that there is meaning and purpose in your life.
• Gratitude is an antidote to anger. When you are upset with someone you love, thinking about how grateful you are for the good things about this person helps makes you want to patch things up.
• Gratitude is an antidote to sadness. When you feel down, thinking about how grateful you are for all the good things in your life chases the blues away.
• Gratitude is an antidote to stress. When you feel as if you can’t cope, thinking about how grateful you are for everything that is going well in your life helps to restore a sense of peace.

Cultivating an attitude of gratitude is one of the best gifts you can give to yourself and your children. It’s not particularly difficult, but like any new skill, it takes time, planning and determination.

Here are some things that you can do to make yourself and your family people of gratitude:

• At breakfast and bedtime, encourage everyone in the family to thank God for the special people in your lives.
• At dinnertime, encourage every member of the family to mention one thing that made them feel grateful during the day.
• Make a list of the things in your lives that you are grateful for. Write each thing on a slip of paper and create a gratitude jar. Encourage everyone in the family to draw a slip from the jar whenever they are having a bad day.
• Encourage your children to be grateful for the gift of nature, the air we breathe, the light of the sun, and the beauty of the stars.
•  Teach your children that good manners are an expression of gratitude. Saying thank you and, even, please are important ways to let people know that you are grateful.

This approach will help you begin to see yourself, other people, the world around you and the God that made you in a new and exciting way. Gratitude will transform your life and your new attitude will become one more thing that you can be grateful for!

Taken from the November issue of "Take Out: Family Faith on the Go"