Today is Thursday and for the last 40 Thursdays or so (not exactly sure when it all began), I have been posting TILTs to my Facebook page. TILT=Things I Love Thursday! Thank you, Carlyn Eames, for the idea and for the inspiration. I am thankful for her everyday and so happy that our lives connected in 1987 at Transylvania University on Forrer Hall 4th Back.
I love that TILT is such a simple yet profound way to express gratitude, and I love reflecting on what I am thankful for. In fact, every night before I go to bed, I write down five things that I am grateful for. Sometimes it is more than five things. Sometimes I have to stretch to get to five things. But bottom line, I fall asleep with a grateful heart.
Research has revealed that expressing gratitude and writing down what we are grateful for increases our overall happiness and decreases our stress levels.
Psychologists Robert Emmons and Michael McCullough are conducting on-going research on gratitude and thankfulness. This finding is from their website:
"In an experimental comparison, those who kept gratitude journals on a weekly basis exercised more regularly, reported fewer physical symptoms, felt better about their lives as a whole, and were more optimistic about the upcoming week compared to those who recorded hassles or neutral life events (Emmons & McCullough, 2003)."
TILT: Things I Love Thursday
The open sky, which reminds me of possibilities, change, and beauty; the promise of spring; the Red Rocks in Arizona; the radio program “This I Believe” on NPR; standing on the side of love; the comfort of old friends; joy in the present moment; U2, dark chocolate, Italy, March Madness (Go UK Wildcats!), Canadians, & the Year of the Dragon.
What are you grateful for today? Feel free to join us in expressing you TILT!
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2 comments:
Great post! I derived a lot of joy on my drive from Louisville to Richmond, KY this afternoon thinking about what I will TILT today. Now to get the old computer up and going - too many things to be grateful fo r to TILT from an iPhone. What a fabulous *problem* to have!
Much joy to you, my friend!
Thanks, Melony! Isn't it great not only to think about what we are grateful for, but also to express it and share it? Gratitude that comes alive is contagious! Much joy to you as well, my friend.
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