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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