Thanksgiving and Health

Prov 17:22 “A cheerful heart is good medicine,but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”

Several years ago,  Psychology Today published a study that was done with optimists and pessimists. They discovered that on the whole pessimists were better at predicting the future.  Given all other things as being equal, the pessimist was more likely to be accurate in his or her guesses than the optimist.

This sounds like bad news for the optimists, but not so fast!  They also discovered that while pessimists were better at guessing the future, they were worse at getting things done. They may be able to see the obstacles, but they were much, much worse at being able to overcome them.  Pessimists were more likely to be stopped by opposition, and recovered more slowly than optimists.

This was brought out in the classic book by  Norman Cousins  Anatomy of an Illness. Cousins, afflicted by a debilitating, life threatening illness,  at first gave up on life. Then he discovered that the state of his mind, whether he faced life with laughter or tears, made a huge difference in his body’s ability to heal. This has been borne out in study after study since the publication of his book.  The best way to overcome an illness is to be thankful in it.

We don’t have to be thankful for our illness. But we can learn to recognize the things in our lives that we may find easier to be thankful for.  In this way, we may benefit from the positive effects of thanksgiving even when we do not feel particularly thankful.

Cousins was cured from his illness, not by medicine, but by laughter, love, and joy.  Keeping our minds focused in a thankful direction is the best compass we can use on our way to healing.  A daily dose of thankfulness will keep us healthy for a long, long time.

Today, make a list of five things for which you are thankful. Once you do, say that list back to yourself, over and over, and see what happens.

Thank you, Father, for all the great gifts you have given me today. Thank you for this wonderful body you have given me.  Help me Lord to appreciate the wonder of the life you have given, for as long as I am in it, and make me even more thankful for the life you will give me later, when it is time to leave this one. 

 In Jesus' name, Amen.