Gratitude Week
Gratitude. Not surprisingly, it's a word that we hear a lot, especially from our teachers. Perhaps it's a bit repetitive and maybe even a little tedious, but have you ever thought about this seven letter word as a kind of secret superpower? What if I told you that this seven letter word has the power to improve sleep, decrease depression, anxiety and the risk of disease?
Two weeks ago the College community celebrated Gratitude Week. The wellbeing portfolio across both Junior and Senior Campuses demonstrated commendable initiative in organising Daily Prayers, activities and songs. More often than not, it's easy for us to participate in these activities without actually knowing why.
First of all its key to establish what this powerful seven letter word means. John Ortberg said that ‘Gratitude is the ability to experience life as a gift’. Simply though, gratitude is synonymous with appreciation. Gratitude is the act of being grateful, the act of being thankful, and truth be told it’s a quality most of us seem to overlook.
Now I know that you’ve probably been told not to take things for granted, but in the literal sense what does this mean? When was the last time you said thank you to the sun for giving you light, or thank you to the soil because it gave you food, what about thanking the stars for guiding you back home? If you take a minute to look around, I can guarantee that life would be that much harder without the things you see around you right now, why then do we not express our thankfulness?
The practice of gratitude suggests that we should express our appreciation everyday, and for the majority of us this isn't the case. So maybe then does this explain why we haven't reached our full capacity to be happy? The benefits of gratitude are endless. I mean the list really does go on. Gratitude makes people more helpful, it improves compassion, social relationships and the ability to radiate positivity.
Although students at the College participated in a variety of activities including writing messages, cards and even taking part in breathing exercises, practising gratitude doesn't have to be such a tedious activity if we don’t make it to be. Right now I challenge you to pause whatever it is that you are doing and loudly say one thing that you’re grateful for. I’m only asking you to say one thing, easy enough right? Better yet, why not write it down? Start by writing down one thing everyday and before you know it you’ve got yourself a gratitude journal! And what about telling someone something you appreciate them for, or challenging yourself to notice the things you appreciate?
I guess now you’re probably starting to see how these little things can add up to big things, and that's usually because we get so caught up in our heads that we overcomplicate the things that would otherwise be hard to miss. For some people that could mean juggling a million other commitments and believing that this simple notion of ‘one thing everyday’ is asking for too much, but in reality this ‘one thing everyday’ requires only a maximum of one minute everyday. One minute to truly be appreciative, I mean is that really asking for a lot because the health benefits are insane!
Studies point out that simply journaling for five minutes a day can increase our long-term happiness by over 10% because we’re less likely to be impatient and ultimately more likely to reduce our stress. Ever been told to count your blessings’, because science suggests that true gratitude can even reduce blood pressure and can help people recover from substance abuse and other illnesses.
So I guess it turns out that this seven letter phenomenon might not be so repetitive and tedious after all. Instead, it’s free, easy and time-friendly!
We were able to get most of our students and teachers on board, so why shouldn’t you give it a go too? Whether it be being thankful for sitting and eating together as a family, being thankful for teachers replying to late night emails or even just being thankful for life, the practice of gratitude has been a tried and tested method.
Below 7B4 spreads a few of their gratitude superpowers!
- ‘I am grateful for the nature in my life’
- ‘I am grateful for food and the roof over my head’
- ‘I am thankful for my friends and family’
- ‘I am thankful for going to school’
- ‘I am grateful for God’
So what are you waiting for? It’s time to be more grateful!
Shaniya Lal
Year 12 Publicity