Why this Brit Loves Thanksgiving

As a Brit living in the US, I was a little bemused by Thanksgiving at first. In the UK, we celebrated “Harvest” with a cute assembly at my kids school and a collection of cans of soup and beans for the elderly.  But on the eve of my fifth US Thanksgiving I have come to consider Thanksgiving my favorite “holiday”. When we strip away the commercialization and overeating of Thanksgiving, it is essentially a day for gratitude and gratitude is good for you and a day devoted to gratitude can only be a wonderful thing! 

Now I am a neuroscience geek, out and proud and mounting neuroscience research shows that practicing gratitude is good for you! Martin Selligman, founder of Positive Psychology asserts that the acknowledgement and expression of gratitude is good for health, wellbeing and relationships. In Change your Brain, Change your Body Daniel Amen reports that gratitude improves function in key areas of the brain enhancing cognitive ability, coordination and emotional regulation.

Gratitude is a powerful tool to reduce stress and increase wellbeing because it focuses your attention on the good things in your life, past and present. Often we get caught up in our busy lives and fail to stop for a moment and notice the good things and to celebrate them, no matter how small. That is why I have created this gratitude meditation to share with the world, so if you have just 5 minutes to spare, I’d love you to listen, you never know it might just be good for your brain!

Click the link to take a soak in the power of gratitude:

http://www.drleonaurarhodes.com/gratitude-meditation/

So this Thanksgiving, I am grateful for many things, many people, my life, my health and my happiness. What are you grateful for?