grateful? amidst this?

Houston is trying to recover. 

One of the largest hurricanes ever recorded is headed toward Miami and has already wreaked havoc in the Caribbean. 

The West is on fire - almost 1.5 million acres. We've had hazardous air conditions in Spokane for the entire week from fires in Montana, Canada, and Washington. 

North Korea. 

Blatant and terrifying instances of racism. 

It goes on and on... 

How do we ignore this? We definitely don't. 

UC Davis Professor Robert Emmons has been studying gratitude for over a decade. In one study with his colleagues Michael McCullough and Jo-Ann Tsang, they found that grateful people do not seem to ignore or deny the negative aspects of life; they simply choose to appreciate what is positive as well: “People with a strong disposition toward gratitude have the capacity to be empathic and to take the perspective of others. They are rated as more generous and more helpful by people in their social networks.”

We definitely need more grateful people. 

So list 5 things today. And keep repeating them to yourself.