Why is practicing gratitude important?
That first sip of coffee in the morning, a 15 minute walk in the sunshine, listening to your favorite song, biting into a chocolate chip cookie...these are all simple pleasures for which we can express gratitude. Why? Recent scientific studies have shown that expressing gratitude helps out brain to feel more positive and happier. What are the little things that you are grateful for? On this page you will find library books about gratitude, suggestions for ways to express gratitude, and information about the science behind expressing gratitude.
Photo by Gabrielle Henderson on Unsplash
- Gratitude and Your BrainInformation from the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley about the importance of gratitude in our lives
Literature Books on Simple Pleasures and Gratitude
The Gratitude Project by ISBN: 9781684034611Publication Date: 2020-09-01In our fractured, "me-first" world, the science and practice of thankfulness could be just the antidote we need. Gratitude is powerful: not only does it feel good, it's also been proven to increase our well-being in myriad ways. The result of a multiyear collaboration between the Greater Good Science Center and Robert Emmons of the University of California, Davis,The Gratitude Project explores gratitude's deep roots in human psychology--how it evolved and how it affects our brain--as well as the transformative impact it has on creating a meaningful life and a better world. With essays based on new findings from this original research and written by renowned positive psychologists and public figures, this important book delves deeply into the neuroscience and psychology of gratitude, and explores how thankfulness can be developed and applied, both personally and in communities large and small, for the benefit of all. With contributions from luminaries such as Sonja Lyubomirsky, W. Kamau Bell, Arianna Huffington, and many more, this edited volume offers more than just platitudes--it offers a blueprint for a new and better world.
The Book of Delights by ISBN: 9781616207922Publication Date: 2019-02-12"Ross Gay's eye lands upon wonder at every turn, bolstering my belief in the countless small miracles that surround us." --Tracy K. Smith, Pulitzer Prize winner and U.S. Poet Laureate The winner of the NBCC Award for Poetry offers up a spirited collection of short lyric essays, written daily over a tumultuous year, reminding us of the purpose and pleasure of praising, extolling, and celebrating ordinary wonders. In The Book of Delights, one of today's most original literary voices offers up a genre-defying volume of lyric essays written over one tumultuous year. The first nonfiction book from award-winning poet Ross Gay is a record of the small joys we often overlook in our busy lives. Among Gay's funny, poetic, philosophical delights: a friend's unabashed use of air quotes, cradling a tomato seedling aboard an airplane, the silent nod of acknowledgment between the only two black people in a room. The Book of Delights is about our shared bonds, and the rewards that come from a life closely observed. These remarkable pieces serve as a powerful and necessary reminder that we can, and should, stake out a space in our lives for delight.
Small Pleasures by ISBN: 9780993538735Publication Date: 2018-09-04"... A book reminding us of all the small moments we overlook when they happen."--Emma Gannon, Ctr Alt Delete podcast. So often, we exhaust ourselves and the planet in a search for very large pleasures--while all around us lies a wealth of small pleasures, which--if only we paid more attention--could daily bring us solace and joy at little cost and effort. But we need some encouragement to focus our gaze. This is a book to guide us to the best of life's small pleasures: everything from the distinctive delight of holding a child's hand to the enjoyment of disagreeing with someone to the joy of the evening sky; an intriguing, evocative mix of small pleasures that will heighten our senses and return us to the world with new-found excitement and enthusiasm.
How to Love the World: Poems of Gratitude & Hope by ISBN: 9781635863864Publication Date: 2021-03-23What the world needs now - featuring poems from inaugural poet Amanda Gorman, Ross Gay, Tracy K. Smith and more. More and more people are turning to poetry as an antidote to divisiveness, negativity, anxiety, and the frenetic pace of life. How to Love the World: Poems of Gratitude and Hope offers readers uplifting, deeply felt, and relatable poems by well-known poets from all walks of life and all parts of the US, including inaugural poet Amanda Gorman, Joy Harjo, Naomi Shihab Nye, Ross Gay, Tracy K. Smith, and others. The work of these poets captures the beauty, pleasure, and connection readers hunger for. How to Love the World, which contains new works by Ted Kooser, Mark Nepo, and Jane Hirshfield, invites readers to use poetry as part of their daily gratitude practice to uncover the simple gifts of abundance and joy to be found everywhere. With pauses for stillness and invitations for writing and reflection throughout, as well as reading group questions and topics for discussion in the back, this book can be used to facilitate discussion in a classroom or in any group setting.
World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments by ISBN: 9781571313652Publication Date: 2020-09-08From poet Aimee Nezhukumatathil comes a debut work of nonfiction--a collection of essays about the natural world, and the way its inhabitants can teach, support, and inspire us. As a child, Nezhukumatathil called many places home: the grounds of a Kansas mental institution, where her Filipina mother was a doctor; the open skies and tall mountains of Arizona, where she hiked with her Indian father; and the chillier climes of western New York and Ohio. But no matter where she was transplanted--no matter how awkward the fit or forbidding the landscape--she was able to turn to our world's fierce and funny creatures for guidance. Even in the strange and the unlovely, Nezhukumatathil finds beauty and kinship. For it is this way with wonder: it requires that we are curious enough to look past the distractions in order to fully appreciate the world's gifts.
The Science of Gratitude
The short video below explains how giving thanks, showing gratitude, or noticing simple pleasures in life can influence the chemicals in our brain and make us feel better.
Ideas for Practicing Gratitude
- Take photos of moments you are grateful for
- At the end of each day, take a minute to think about what small things or moments were memorable from your day.
- Keep a gratitude journal
- Tell friends and family what you are grateful for about them
Calling People in Your Life to Express Gratitude
In this video, people call the persons in their lives who they value and express their thanks.
