Gratitude is humbling. It can remind us that our health, the people in our lives, the beauty surrounding us, and our abilities are not owed to us. Being grateful allows us to feel the fullness of the beauty in our lives. Sometimes we feel the deepest gratitude when something has been removed from us – not having the use of a part of our body after an injury, being hungry and not having access to food, losing someone we love. . .

There is a children’s book I read to my children each Thanksgiving when they were growing up. It is called The Table Where Rich People Sit, by Byrd Baylor. In the book, the daughter of a family with limited financial resources calls a family meeting to discuss how they can make more money. Her parents agree to have the discussion, but first want to calculate what riches they already have, which includes the health of their children, the ability to sleep outside together under the sky, and the freedom to explore the mountain where they live. The daughter begins to realize that money may not be as important as she thought. Could her family really be rich after all? They end the family meeting short as they realize that the sun is setting, and they prefer to watch that instead.

I think about this book often. What would I pay to have healthy children if mine were seriously ill? How much money would I spend to be outdoors if I weren’t allowed to leave my house? What would I give to laugh with my father again or to sit with my sister? The funny thing is, the most valuable things often cannot be purchased.

Taking a moment to acknowledge appreciation for something or someone in our lives has a profound impact on our wellness. It boosts dopamine and serotonin, the neurotransmitters in the brain that improve mood. The act of writing down our thoughts has a deeper cognitive impact than just thinking about it. Writing and then speaking create the largest change in our neural pathways.

But what about when we are feeling stressed or scared about real problems in our personal lives or in our larger world? What about when we are grieving the loss of a loved one? What about when our bodies are filled with pain from an injury or an illness? This might be the most important time for us to tap into our gratitude. According to neuroscientists, it is impossible to feel gratitude and fear/anxiety/sadness at the same time.

Helping children to build the muscle of gratitude can also aid in a sense of humility – when we can see how interdependent we are on others for everything we have, everything we are, from the most basic level. The trees that offer us breath, the glorious mountains that hold our valley, and the water that quenches our thirst. The item I hold in my hand, or wear on my body, has passed through many other hands to be first imagined, then designed, made, marketed, and shipped.

I, for one, am deeply grateful to spend my days on this campus, to work somewhere that doesn’t feel like work, and to be a part of the Oak Grove community. Thank you for joining me in this learning journey.