Gratitude Now: Are You Feeling Half Full or Half Empty?

This week we celebrate Thanksgiving. It is the time for gratitude. Typically, we take a moment to consider the blessings we have. This year has been memorable in a lot of ways. Finding reasons to be grateful depends on your perspective.

Half Full or Half Empty?

If you are a “glass is half full" person, it may be more of a challenge to be grateful.  And this year has plenty of reasons to feel less than grateful. Not that anyone needs a reminder, but COVID-19 has been difficult to say the least. The continued effects of the quarantine are more than burdensome. For those who work in health care and long-term care, the challenges continue.

If you are a “glass is half full" person, it may be easier to find good things in this year. There have been some acts of kindness and moments of grace that might not have been possible without COVID-19. Stories of people showing gratitude to health care and long-term care workers have been publicized. There are videos of acts of COVID 19 kindness online.

It is important to remember that it is not if the glass is half full or half empty. We need to remember that the glass can be refilled. It is possible to keep going in this time of quarantine. We have choices on how we respond. Being grateful for the little things is important.

Thinking Of Gratitude

Anne Lamott provided some beautiful thoughts on gratitude: “Gratitude begins in our hearts and then dovetails into behavior. It almost always makes you willing to be of service, which is where the joy resides.” In a year when it may be easier to feel ungrateful, let us think of who we are grateful for.

We are grateful for those who continue to work long hours and multiple shifts to care for others. Also, those who sacrifice their personal lives to support others deserve our gratitude. Thank you to those who relentlessly serve and do so willingly.  They deserve our thanks. They deserve our gratitude at any time of year, and in every year.

Kathy Dreyer, Ph.D., is an Advisor at AGE-u-cate® Training Institute, which develops and delivers innovative research-based aging and dementia training programs such as Dementia Live® and Compassionate Touch®, for professional and family caregivers; kathy.dreyer@ageucate.com