By Dr. Jared Overton
Overton Psychological Services
We live in difficult and uncertain times. The stressors that we face as individuals, as a community, and as a nation demand attention and respect.
At times like these it is tempting to feel powerless to turn the tide of forces that seem much bigger than we are. If we let them, however, these stressors can emotionally overwhelm us and drag us down.
All too often, no matter what the realities around us, we tend to dwell on the negative things that happen in life rather than focusing on what is positive. The nightly news is a perfect example of this. But when we gravitate toward the negative, we paint an inaccurate picture of ourselves and the world around us. We become more susceptible to things like hopelessness, low self-esteem, lack of enjoyment, sadness, and anxiety. And when we become depressed or anxious we become further susceptible to countless physical ailments as well.
There are however some things that are always within our control, no matter what may be going on in the world around us.
One of the most powerful things we can do to improve our mental health is to deliberately foster an attitude of gratitude. Gratitude can be defined as a feeling of thankfulness and appreciation. When we are filled with gratitude, it is difficult to simultaneously maintain negative feelings like anger, frustration, depression, or anxiety. Our trials can literally feel lighter, our future more hopeful, and our self-worth more valuable and secure.
Clearly, it is in our best interest to increase our capacity for, and practice of, the attribute of gratitude. There are many ways to become more grateful. Fortunately, we don’t need to wait for exceptional or profound things to change in our lives in order to get there. Taking time to realize what we already have, what we take for granted, is essential to that end. Make no mistake though; it takes real and sustained effort. If we look hard enough, gratitude can be found in the simplest of things.
To better illustrate, let me provide an example of an experience I recently had. A few weeks ago, a friend pointed out a seemingly odd, yet profound quote that has kept my mind busy ever since.
Carl Sagan, a famous astronomer, astrophysicist, and natural scientist once said, “If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe (Cosmos, 1980).”
I doubt that the intention of that statement was to express the concept of gratitude, but that is what I began to feel as I thought more about it. I began to realize all that is needed to make something as simple as apple pie a possibility. Suddenly, it was a much more magnificent blessing than it had been and I found myself being grateful for the many astonishing and invaluable things needed to make it.
It may sound silly, but try to be patient as I elaborate. I’ll try not to get too carried away…
Apparently, the universe is first on the checklist. No universe, no apple pie. Our galaxy (a very small part of that universe) has somewhere between 100-400 billion stars in it. We could talk forever (literally) about the awesome nature of our universe, but we must move on.
You see, to make an apple pie we still need more. The Earth is positioned at a perfect distance from the sun, with an axis and rotation adequate to support changing seasons and increasing the usable surface of the earth so that it can sustain adequate and varied animal and plant life (including apple trees). Its complex atmosphere is also needed and is perfectly balanced to sustain life as well.
We also need, and fortunately have, an intricately balanced ecosystem. We could talk at length about the magnificence of any of these things, but again, we must continue onward.
We of course also need people to actually make the apple pie. Though the human body is immensely complex and astonishing in and of itself, the brain alone is far beyond our current understanding. We could dwell on the astonishing nature of the human brain, but again, we must move forward.
I’m sure you get the point by now, but I can’t help myself. I’ll try to be brief.
We also need plant life which is generated from complex DNA strands, access to raw materials, an expressive and written language, understanding of baking skills handed down from generation to generation, factories to construct ovens, electrical power plants where electricity is created, and so on, and so on….
If we take time to look at life as it is, we can be filled with gratitude for even the simplest of things that we take for granted every day.
I encourage you to daily set aside at least five minutes to foster this attitude of gratitude. It can be done through prayer, meditation, or simply through uninterrupted contemplation. If we do this, our perspectives of life will change. Much of gloom and despair will be replaced with hope and optimism. Our mental and physical health will significantly benefit.
And that is something else we can truly be grateful for.
