WISDOM WITHIN - November 2015 - Kansas City

The Healing Feeling of Gratitude

By Suzette Scholtes

My sister Pat drives to town early for Turkey day. She comes to help shop, bake, cook, clean and prepare. We enjoy our camaraderie, sharing old stories and simple sisterhood. Our teamwork in the kitchen is magical as we add to our boiling pots the spices and fresh ingredients, creating delicious food from old family recipes.

I shared this last year but so worth repeating to pause and reflect upon gratitude.

Gratitude improves your immune system
Gratitude fosters peace
Gratitude creates confidence
Gratitude attracts more success
Gratitude improves happiness
Gratitude heals anxiety
Gratitude inspires new dreams
Gratitude opens doors for new opportunity.
Gratitude helps us let go of the past
Gratitude heals our emotional, physical and mental “wounds”

When gratitude bubbles up from the heart, it opens us to joy and creativity. It attracts more love. Now the down side, teacher said. There’s a down side?!

You may feel vulnerable, one of the keys of true gratitude. We may have to give up the masks we wear. One will cease feeling separate, feeling more unconditional love. True gratitude melts boundaries. It may feel scary to leave your old ways.

Gratitude may be one of the most overlooked tools we may use daily, writes Amy Morin, psychotherapist and author of 13 Things Mentally Strong People do Not Do. She shares her research:

Gratitude opens the door to more relationships when one shows appreciation to new and old friends. When someone holds the door open for you and you thank them, based upon a 2014 study, this inspires them to be friendly with you.
Grateful people tend to exercise more and eat right.
Gratitude improves psychological health by easing toxic emotions such as envy, frustration and regret. It improves happiness and reduces depression.
Gratitude enhances empathy and sensitivity, according to a 2012 study by the University of Kentucky.
Grateful folks sleep better. Jot down a few grateful thoughts before sleep and see if you sleep better and longer.
When you appreciate another’s’ success, it lifts your self-esteem.
Fostering gratitude helps to melt stress even in the dark times, proven in a 2006 study with Vietnam War Vets.

Now the many folks who graced our table over the years always want one recipe from us, “Bread Stuffing.” Grandma Scholtes found it in an old Betty Crocker cookbook. The secret is real butter and to measure every ingredient and spice and nothing weird like oysters. Use good bakery bread, such as a crusty French baguette. My younger sis loves it so much I freeze a casserole and give it to her for Christmas. And if you are grateful for her company she just may share a serving!

Suzette Scholtes’ non-fiction writing won the prestigious “Writers Digest” award. Her passions are writing and yoga and she feels one needs a sense of humor for both. She founded The Yoga School of Therapeutics where she manages one of the regions prestige teacher training programs. 10400 W. 103rd Street,

Overland Park.

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