E for Expressing Gratitude

Hello, so it’s day five of the A2Z challenge and E is the letter of the day. Today, I will share the importance of expressing gratitude and how it brings changes in the life of seniors.

Just a reminder again, this post is in the series of my topic “Seconds Innings”. In this series, I shall be adding 26 posts about the issues of elderlies. 

What do you mean by gratitude? The dictionary meaning of gratitude is the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.

Gratitude aids in developing close relationships. For example, if someone receives a gift or benefit from another person (i.e., the benefactor), the receiver (i.e. the beneficiary) feels grateful, which motivates them to behave in a kind way toward the benefactor. Now, this expression of gratitude is a pleasure to both.

Think about the most recent time, when you felt gratitude for something. Was it for the rising sun this morning? (In Sanatan parampara, we offer water to Sun God to show gratitude.) Or that young lad who opened the door for you in a restaurant? If you start recollecting the daily events, I am sure, you will find many instances every day to be grateful for every day. 

It is easy to nurture gratitude and it will benefit mental and physical health. Just focus on what you have and what you are thankful for. This is the easiest of the ways to improve overall satisfaction with life. 

So now, you know how to develop gratitude. Let us now check the benefits for elders.

1. You can have a better sleep. Who will not agree that sound sleep is an asset to having a great day after waking up? Research shows that one can actually have better quality and quantity of sleep when grateful. Isn’t it amazing? With gratefulness, one has positive thoughts and this, in turn, calms the mind and results in better sleep. 
2. Gratitude brings happiness and positivity which tend to motivate to have better physical and psychological health. Have you ever observed that the day, you wear good clothes, your mood is uplifted and you feel happy throughout the day? This results in better self-care and better health. 
3. When you say thank you and acknowledge others’ contributions, by speaking to them with respect, you are creating a new relationship. Those looking for something positive in others are more pleasant to be around. So friends and families want to visit them. This leads to better social connections and less isolation and lonely. No one wants to live a secluded life forever.
4. Practicing gratitude on daily basis changes the frame of mind and helps one become a more positive person. It is not about immediate gratification but develops a long-lasting happy frame of mind.
5. A very surprising outcome of expressing gratitude is an improvement in memory. It has been seen that grateful people recall past experiences in a more positive way. They value the good times they had and are thus better equipped to handle tough times in life.
6. It helps increase self-esteem and feel a deeper connection with their spirituality.

When people have higher levels of gratitude, they have lower levels of stress, better sleep, and better health parameters hence better equipped to face their daily life! Gratitude helps people to focus on what they have rather than what they do not have or what they need. It results in living with mindfulness and positivity.

How to express gratitude. Here are some tips to start with –

1. Use sorry, thank you as often as you can.

2. Send birthday wishes messages, anniversary messages, etc. In short, look for happy occasions and be vocal about them.

Before I sum up this article, let me mention that there is no age to be grateful for whatever you have in life. Being grateful and expressive about gratitude is a virtue that will help anyone to be a positive person.

I am participating in #BlogchatterA2Z .

This article is the fifth article in the series “Second Innings”, You can check other articles here.