Healthy Tip: Gratitude: it won’t replace your flu shot, but it might keep you from turning into a tissue tornado. Grateful folks sleep better, stress less, and have stronger immune systems. All of that translates into fewer colds and infections. Before you reach for the cough syrup, try reaching for your gratitude journal. At the end of each day, reflect on one thing your body did well—digested lunch without drama? Walked you through the day? Give thanks for that.
gratitude
Healthy Tips: Thankful to Heart-Healthy: A Gratitude Love Story
Turns out saying “thanks” is good for your ticker. No jogging required (but go ahead if that’s your thing).
Grateful people have healthier hearts. Studies show lower blood pressure and reduced inflammation in folks who regularly practice gratitude. Tonight, take a moment to thank your heart—literally—for showing up every day. That quiet pump deserves some love.
Send a thank-you message—text, email, or handwritten—to someone who’s supported you. Your heart (and theirs) will beat stronger for it.
You know what else gratitude strengthens? Your immune system. Yep, “thank you” might just be your new multivitamin. See our next post.
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Healthy Tips: Gratitude: Nature’s Stress Buster You Don’t Have to Swallow
An attitude of gratitude has health benefits for us. For the next 5 days, including today, I will provide blog posts that provide a way in which you can use gratitude to improve your health.
Why pop a pill when you can lower stress levels by saying “thank you” to life’s little gifts—like your coffee staying hot until the last sip?
Chronic stress wrecks your health—but gratitude fights back. Research shows that practicing gratitude reduces cortisol levels and increases heart rate variability, a marker of resilience. Start small: each night before bed, write down 3 things you’re grateful for. They can be as simple as not burning your toast.
Practice Tip: Create a “gratitude jar.” Each day, write one good thing that happened and toss it in. On tough days, pick a few out and remind yourself: you’ve got more wins than you thought.
Think gratitude only calms your nerves? Wait until you see what it does for your heart—literally. Stay tuned for a cardiac surprise.
The Creation ~ A Poem by Cecil Francis Humphreys
The Creation
Cecil Francis Humphreys
All things bright and beatiful,
All creatures, great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all.
Each little flower that opens,
Each little bird that sings,
He made their glowing colours,
He made their tiny wings;
The rich man in his castle,
The poor man at his gate,
God made them, high and lowly,
And ordered their estate.
The purple-headed mountain,
The river running by,
The sunset and the morning,
That brightens up the sky;
The cold wind in the winter,
The pleasant summer sun,
The ripe fruits in the garden—
He made them every one.
The tall trees in the greenwood,
The meadows where we play,
The rushes by the water
We gather every day,—
He gave us eyes to see them,
And lips that we might tell,
How great is God Almighty,
Who has made allthings well!
Today’s Quote: It’s Really Quite Simple
“If the only prayer you said was thank you, that would be enough.” ― Meister Eckhart
Healthy Tips: Building Mental Toughness
Note: Over the next few days, the Healthy Tips blog post will focus on mental toughness. Our mental toughness helps us to overcome our challenges, big or small.
Mental Toughness Tip: “We can build mentally strong minds by increasing our focus on positive emotions such as joy, gratitude, and hope.” Source
It’s Time for a Great Day
Number one on my to-do list today is to have a great day. Here are three things I’m going to do and I think everything else will fall into place and I’ll go to sleep tonight with a smile on my face and peaceful heart. 1) I am going to start the day being grateful. I’ll give thanks for a hot shower, clean water, hot coffee, oatmeal, blueberries, and good health. I’ll keep the grateful ball rolling throughout the day. 2) I am not going to think about “what I have to do” I’m just going to focus on what I am currently doing. 3) I’m going to focus on what I can control and watch the rest of the stuff drift on by. Yes, I am going to have a great day. I’m excited to get started. I hope you have a great day as well and make tomorrow even better.
Wonder ~ A Poem by Robert W. Service
Wonder
Robert W. Service
For failure I was well equipped
And should have come to grief,
By atavism grimly gripped,
A fool beyond belief.
But lo! the Lord was good to me,
And with a heart to sing,
He gave me to a rare degree
The Gift of Wondering.
I could not play a stalwart part
My shoddy soul to save,
And should have gone with broken heart
A begger to the grave;
But praise to my anointed sight
As wandering I went,
I sang of living with delight
In terms of Wonderment.
Aye, starry-eyed did I rejoice
With marvel of a child,
And there were those who heard my voice
Although my words were wild:
So as I go my wistful way,
With worship let me sing,
A treasure to my farewell day
God’s Gift of Wondering.
What Is To Come ~ A Poem by William Ernest Henley
What Is To Come
William Ernest Henley
What is to come we know not. But we know
That what has been was good–was good to show,
Better to hide, and best of all to bear.
We are the masters of the days that were:
We have lived, we have loved, we have suffered . . . even so.
Shall we not take the ebb who had the flow?
Life was our friend. Now, if it be our foe –
Dear, though it spoil and break us!–need we care
What is to come?
Let the great winds their worst and wildest blow,
Or the gold weather round us mellow slow:
We have fulfilled ourselves, and we can dare
And we can conquer, though we may not share
In the rich quiet of the afterglow
What is to come.
Thanks ~ A Poem by Henrik Johan Ibsen
Thanks
Henrik Johan Ibsen
HER griefs were the hours
When my struggle was sore,–
Her joys were the powers
That the climber upbore.
Her home is the boundless
Free ocean that seems
To rock, calm and soundless,
My galleon of dreams.
Half hers are the glancing
Creations that throng
With pageant and dancing
The ways of my song.
My fires when they dwindle
Are lit from her brand;
Men see them rekindle
Nor guess by whose hand.
Of thanks to requite her
No least thought is hers,–
And therefore I write her,
Once, thanks in a verse.
