Many of us are familiar with the Pilgrim's Thanksgiving Feast of 1621, where the Pilgrims invited Native Americans to share a meal with them. They celebrated a three-day feast of eating, hunting, and entertainment in honor of their first successful harvest. Thanksgiving, however, did not become a national holiday until the 1800s, when American writer Sara Josepha Hale was inspired by a diary of a Pilgrim to recreate that first Thanksgiving meal. Her efforts, coupled with Abraham Lincoln's declaration of its annual celebration on the fourth Thursday of November, led to the national holiday we celebrate today.
Although Thanksgiving means something different for everyone, generally it is a time for families and friends to enjoy a day of fun, bonding, and food. Some people celebrate through parades, football, and, of course, turkey. All this reminds us of the good things in our life.
Thanksgiving may only be one day, but it teaches us a very valuable lesson that I think we should adopt everyday of the year. At its core, Thanksgiving is a day designed for us to take a break, set aside our worries and just appreciate what we have. We don't have to feel good and happy for only one day of the year. By practicing gratitude on a regular basis, we can improve our own mental and physical well-being.
I think we intuitively know that counting our blessings lead to a happier life, but wonder if there is actually scientific data backing it up. Well, fortunately, many scientists have studied gratitude to an extent, and have come up with some explanations as to how the act of regular thanksgiving is greatly beneficial to us.
"Gratitude is good medicine," says UC Davis' psychology professor and researcher, Robert Emmons. For one, grateful people are more likely to sleep better than those who aren't according to a study published in the Journal of Psychosomatic Research. And you know what more sleep means? A better mood, better memory, and better everything pretty much. Other studies have also found a correlation between gratitude and happiness. Leading researchers conducted experiments that involved people keeping a journal of either negative or positive things in their daily lives. Those who wrote about gratitude came out of the experiment feeling more optimistic and overall better about their lives. Additionally, they have engaged in more activities that benefit them greatly, such as exercising and eating healthier.
It is not easy to always be thankful, especially when we feel like everything is just falling apart. However, choosing to see the positive things in life will not only help us feel better internally, but it will also help us to influence others positively.
As Thanksgiving comes closer, enjoy the time off from school and work. Once the day passes, remember that it doesn't really have to be over. The next time you miss your bus and are late for class, instead of grumbling, imagine the other endless possibilities of good things that could happen. Maybe missing the bus leads you to meeting someone new who you will one day be good friends with, or maybe by missing the bus, you avoid something bad. It's all about perspective. Choose to see the glass half full.
