In the midst of the holiday season, families are gathering for food and fellowship, preparing to usher out one year and begin the next. For some, the holidays are the only time during the year when they see some family members, and tensions may escalate and transform a holiday feast into a stressful event.
Yet the holidays are an ideal time to focus on the gift of gratitude.
Gratitude is an antidote for what we may feel is wrong in our life or what we lack. It shifts our attention to what we have, and even if we do not feel it, we all have much to be grateful for.
With gratitude, we focus on the glass being “half full” rather than “half empty.” It reminds us that no matter our plight, there is always something that is worth valuing and appreciating in our lives.
As Helen Keller said, “I cried because I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet.” In other words, perspective drives how we feel about ourselves and our lives.
So what are some things to be grateful for?
The obvious one is living in a nation such as the United States. We have an immigration problem in this country because so many people want to live here and enjoy the freedoms that many of us citizens take for granted. People around the world are willing to risk their lives for the opportunity to be here, often because the situation they are leaving behind is far worse. Indeed, America is viewed as the land of opportunity, with economic advances attainable through hard work. The rules of fair play may appear twisted, yet compared with many other countries, we remain well ahead of the pack.
There are numerous perks and benefits to living in the United States.
The majority of people in the United States (98%) own a cellphone. Since their widespread introduction, cellphones transformed from luxury items to personal necessities. They have eliminated the need for payphones and are fast making landlines obsolete.
Around 11% of the population lives at or below the poverty line, but most people in that segment still own a cellphone, just one of many indicators that our standard of living is far better than we may appreciate.
Close behind cellphones are television sets. Nearly 97% of households own one. Moreover, 96% of people use the internet, up from 76% in 2010.
Though the nation has a food insecurity problem, the variety of food that is generally available is quite broad. The same holds true with drinkable water, which is widely available.
Our supply of energy is also quite robust. We are one of the world’s largest producers of oil, while continuing to expand our production of renewable sources of energy.
Then there are the 4,000 institutions that make up our higher education system, which attracts hundreds of thousands of people from around the world each year, many of whom choose to stay here to enhance the workforce with skilled labor and contribute to the economy. Without such people, particularly those in the science, technology, engineering and math fields, many of the technologies that we enjoy and take for granted would not be widely available. That is why the incoming president must tread carefully on how he handles immigration, given that those who support STEM are not only legally here, but also are vital to our nation’s well-being.
Yet gratitude is not solely driven by what we have. It is driven by our perspective on what we have. Ironically, the people who are often most grateful are those who share the most, not those who have or consume the most.
Gratitude is truly an attitude, a perspective on our place in the world, and a gift to ourselves and the people we interact with. Instead of trying to force the world to adapt to what we want, as we learn to accept what the world has given us, gratitude naturally blossoms.
As we close the door on one year and begin another, the perspective of gratitude is well worth nurturing. It is a gift that we can share with others, and in doing so, it is a gift that allows us to reap tremendous benefits today and well into the future.
Sheldon H. Jacobson, Ph.D., is a professor in computer science in the Grainger College of Engineering and the Carle Illinois College of Medicine at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He uses his expertise in risk-based analytics to address problems in public policy and public health.
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