SHERIFF BROWN

forming and maintaining social relationships. When an individual engages with someone and expresses gratitude for him or her, that individual is more likely to express gratitude in return.

As stated previously, the expression of gratitude is what assists us in forming new relationships and strengthening our current ones. Studies have shown the positive effect of relationships on our emotional well-being, and it is a supplementary benefit of practicing gratitude.

Gratitude is one of many positive emotions. It is about focusing on what is good in our lives and being thankful for the things we have. Gratitude is pausing to notice and appreciate the things we often take for granted. For example, having a place to live, food, hygienic water, friends, family, and even computer technology access.

Oftentimes, I hear people asking the question: What is the difference between being thankful and grateful?

Thankfulness is an emotion, and gratitude is an attitude of appreciation under any circumstance. Gratitude involves being thankful, but it is more than that. Gratitude means expressing thankfulness and being appreciative of daily life, even when nothing exciting occurs.

Although gratitude and thankfulness are closely related, gratitude provides one with a longer-lasting feeling of satisfaction and improved well-being. Practicing gratitude has proven to offer many benefits to individuals.

Self-help books author, Melody Beattie, describes grati tude this way: She says, “Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, and confusion into clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.”

Gratitude is an important part of preserving a healthy psychological outlook, but it is closely related to thankful ness. What many people fail to realize is being thankful and practicing gratitude are quite different.

We all grew up being instructed to be grateful, and to say “Thank You,” when someone was charitable toward us. It became comfortable for us to use these terms interchangeably, but what we have now learned is that thankfulness and gratitude are not synonyms.

Thankfulness involves how we feel in the moment, and like all feelings, eventually, it wanes. Thankfulness is a temporary emotional response to a temporary circumstance. For example, when something good or exciting transpires, it is easy to be thankful. We appreciate the warm feelings that come with gifts or blissful news.

In closing this message, I want to encourage you to do the following: Be thankful for life, spend time in nature and with your family, breathe deeply, let go of your worries, forgive yourself and others, and build your life around what you love. Be thankful for waking up healthy each day, be thankful for excellent hearing and vision, , be grateful for the clothes you have, be thankful for the food on your table, be thankful for the roof over your head, and be thankful for a good night’s sleep.

RAs for me, I choose to live with gratitude for the love that fills my heart, the peace that rests within my spirit, and the voice of hope that says, all things are possible, if you only believe.