Wednesday, July 30, 2014

What’s the most important virtue of all?


Maya Angelou and Samuel Johnson insist that it’s courage. 

 Said Maya Angelou: “Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently.”

 Said Samuel Johnson: “Courage is reckoned the greatest of all virtues; because, unless a man has that virtue, he has no security for preserving any other.”

Courage may top the list for some, but other candidates abound. Aristotle said that pride is the crown of all virtues while others maintain that it’s humility or patience or cheerfulness (said B.C. Forbes: “Cheerfulness is among the most laudable virtues. It gains you the good will and friendship of others. It blesses those who practice it and those upon whom it is bestowed”). And the scriptures say that charity (love) is the greatest of all virtues. 

But a new player has taken center stage of late, and science is fast confirming the physical, psychological and social benefits of acquiring, and practicing daily, this virtue. 

It’s gratitude.

Comedian Louis C.K. might have said it best. In a TV appearance some years ago that went viral, the comedian said that when he’s at the airport, and people complain about sitting on the runway for an extra 30 minutes, he feels compelled to ask:

“Oh really, what happened next? Did you fly through the air, incredibly, like a bird? Did you partake in the miracle of human flight?”

It’s easy to forget all that we have, and all that we take for granted. 

Cultivating an Attitude of Gratitude

Psychology Professor Robert Emmons, one of the world’s leading experts on the subject, believes that gratitude is the “forgotton factor” in happiness research.  The professor has examined gratitude for decades (his work is captured in his book: Thanks! How The New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier) and has found that people who view life as a gift and consciously acquire an “attitude of gratitude” will experience multiple advantages. Explained Emmons: “Without gratitude, life can be lonely, depressing and impoverished. . . . Gratitude enriches human life. It elevates, energizes, inspires and transforms. People are moved, opened and humbled through expressions of gratitude.”

And clinical psychologist Melanie Greenberg, writing for psychologytoday.com, explains that experiencing and expressing gratitude “opens the heart and activates positive emotion centers in the brain.  Regular practice of gratitude can change the way our brain neurons fire into more positive automatic patterns. . . . Gratitude is an emotion of connectedness, which reminds us we are part of a larger universe with all living things.” Added Greeenberg: “Gratitude can lead to feelings of love, appreciation, generosity, and compassion, which further opens our hearts and helps rewire our brains to fire in more positive ways.”

Both Greenberg and Emmons acknowledge that cultivating the virtue of gratitude can be difficult, which is why they both recommend keeping a gratitude journal.  Said Emmons: “Gratitude journals and other gratitude practices often seem so simple and basic; in our studies, we often have people keep gratitude journals for just three weeks. And yet the results have been overwhelming. We’ve studied more than one thousand people, from ages eight to 80, and found that people who practice gratitude consistently report a host of benefits.”

Why might gratitude have these transformative effects on people’s lives? Said Emmons:

“1. Gratitude allows us to celebrate the present. It magnifies positive emotions.”

“2. Gratitude blocks toxic, negative emotions, such as envy, resentment, regret – emotions that can destroy our happiness.”

“3. Grateful people are more stress resistant” and

“4. Grateful people have a higher sense of self-worth.”

"We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures." - Thornton Wilder

“He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has." – Epictetus

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