Greater Good Magazine – How Gratitude Can Help thru Hard Times
Robert Emmons – Published May 13, 2013.
Gratitude does not eliminate pain. It cannot cure suffering. But it can heal it – allowing the suffering to contribute to a meaningful and life-affirming experience. During and following difficult times, a focus on gratitude can save you from the desolation of closing yourself off, from withdrawing into self-protected disconnection or angry isolation.
Robert A. Emmons, Ph.D., is an expert on the science of gratitude. In his essay, How Gratitude Can Help You Through Hard Times, adapted from his book, Gratitude Works!: A 21-Day Program for Creating Emotional Prosperity, he highlights the value of an approach of gratitude as we work through periods of true suffering.
The practice of gratitude allows us to shift the lens through which we experience our lives toward attending to gifts we have received from others and that have been given to us for our benefit. Also, we learn to transform difficult situations into opportunities for growth: adopt a wide perspective and think creatively about any possible benefits that might be gleaned from the situation. Then we use those to move forward in a posture of hope and possibility. Sooner or later, to live means to suffer. Gratitude supports the coping, healing process.