Hijack Your Emotional System This Thanksgiving
Less than a day (depending on where you are in the US, of course) until our beloved American Thanksgiving. (Well, for some people. As much as we like to think they’re cool with it, many Native Americans are not.)
But let’s take out the history of Thanksgiving and look at it for what it has come to symbolize. For some people, it may just be the gateway holiday to Christmas. Those not so Black-Friday-minded tend to see it in a different light, though.
It is a day to give thanks for all you have in your life, plain and simple. No gifts to buy, only food to make and family time to spend.
Right now in the world, there’s a lot of inequality. There’s a lot of lack. There is a lot that has been swindled, taken from its rightful owner (hey, maybe the Native Americans understand this holiday more than we think). But most of us that have the ability to read these words on a computer have a reason to be thankful.
You have more than you have not. It just takes looking at things in a different way.
I know some right-wing leader could take those words and twist them into some reason to keep grabbing from the 99%, and that’s not what they are meant for. Keep fighting the good fight. We don’t have any other choice at this point in history.
At the same time, it is important to allow gratitude into our hearts, even as we fight the injustices in the world. I’ve been all fired up about misogyny lately, which seems to finally have a light shining directly on its evil little head after many years of being hidden. Still, I can be grateful for the many wonderful men who have been in my life, and the many more I will meet. I can also be grateful that I’m living during a turning of the tides (and yes, I believe that is what’s happening).
What does gratitude do for us? So much more than most of us realize. In a Huffington Post article yesterday, writer Seth Borenstein notes:
Research by McCullough and others finds that giving thanks is a potent emotion that feeds on itself, almost the equivalent of being victorious. It could be called a vicious circle, but it’s anything but vicious.
And science is starting to back up ideas on why gratitude helps us to be healthier and happier:
Preliminary theories look at the brain chemistry and hormones in the blood and neurotransmitters in the brain that are connected to feelings of gratitude, Emmons said. And the left prefrontal cortex of the brain, which is also associated with positive emotions like love and compassion, seems to be a key spot, especially in Buddhist monks, Emmons said.
It’s easy to see what gratitude means at a time like Thanksgiving – the message is in the word. But how do we keep that feeling going once the last leftover turkey sandwich has been eaten?
Make it a daily practice. Think about the people in your life that you’re so lucky to have in your life. Take stock of the home you’ve created, the children you’ve birthed, the people you’ve positively impacted with your work. Make a book with quotes from friends who have been thankful to you. Feed the gratitude instead of the gremlin. Write it down. A lot.
Keep that emotional system on alert that desire lacks substance. Remind it that gratitude is the original anti-depressant.
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