Sugarmoon - Spring Edition 2019 Sugarmoon - Spring 2019 | Page 23
forget just how much happiness I already
have.
One thing I forget to be grateful for? My
health. For many of us, health like money
contributes to happiness mostly in the
negative; the lack of it brings much more
unhappiness than possessing it brings
happiness. It’s very easy to take money
or health for granted until it's gone.
My husband recently had surgery on his
knee. Minor surgery, something many
people have done, not risky, a very
ordinary procedure, didn't take long. But
boy, the experience of setting foot in a
hospital made me fervently, passionately,
explosively grateful for my health.
Of course, I was
also grateful for
the good hospital,
the insurance, the
doctors and nurses,
the relief from pain
that my husband got,
his uncomplicated
recovery. So I was
also very grateful for
all that.
But most of all, I was reminded that I
should never to take good health for
granted - my health, or anyone else's. To
be able to take a deep breath, to hear, to
see, to walk, to eat, to be free from pain -
it's so precious.
Another positive consequence of
gratitude? When we're grateful, we tend
to want to make sure that other people
share in whatever we're feeling grateful
for. If I'm feeling grateful for the beauty
of Central Park, it makes me think about
how much I want other people also to be
able to experience the beauty of a park.
Feeling grateful often spurs us to turn
outward, to think about the situations of
others. The trip to the hospital reminded
me of the importance of health for me,
and for everyone. It made me think about
insurance, medical care, availability (and
of course habits, just about everything
makes me think about habits) and what
steps I can take in my own life, to help
others have these building blocks of
good health.
In Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous story,
"The Adventure of Silver Blaze," (which
includes the now well-known phrase
"the curious incident of the dog in the
night-time") Sherlock Holmes perceived
a clue in the fact that a dog didn’t
bark. I find it hard to be grateful for the
problems that aren't there. Today is a day
that I don't make a visit to the hospital -
a happy day.
I'm also reminded
of a hilarious scene
from one of my
favorite movies, The
Princess Bride. I've
watched the scene
where Count Rugen
and Humperdinck
discuss the important
things in life, and it
makes me laugh every
time. "If you haven't
got your health,
you haven't got
anything." It's a cliché,
because it's true.
A good gratitude reminder.
Do you find it hard to remember to be
grateful? Do you have any strategies
to help prompt gratitude? People
use gratitude journals, screen-saver
reminders, photographs and giving
thanks before meals - what else? I write
about my own gratitude exercise in The
Happiness Project.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Gretchen Rubin is one of today’s most
influential and thought-provoking
observers of happiness and human
nature. She’s the author of many books,
including the blockbuster New York
Times bestsellers The Four Tendencies,
Better Than Before and The Happiness
Project. She has an enormous readership,
both in print and online, and her books
have sold almost three million copies
worldwide, in more than 30 languages.
On her top-ranking, award-winning
podcast Happier with Gretchen Rubin,
she discusses happiness and good habits
with her sister Elizabeth Craft.
She’s been interviewed by Oprah, eaten
dinner with Daniel Kahneman, walked
arm-in-arm with the Dalai Lama, had
her work written up in a medical journal
and been an answer on the game show
Jeopardy!
Gretchen Rubin started her career in
law and was clerking for Supreme Court
Justice Sandra Day O’Connor when
she realized she wanted to be a writer.
Raised in Kansas City, she lives in New
York City with her husband; they have
two daughters.
GretchenRubin.com
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