Agnostic.com

11 10

7 Surprising Health Benefits of Gratitude

I feel grateful to be alive, to have eyes that see, a strong body to hike steep trails, and a heart that appreciates the beauty of the outdoors.

Born prematurely, I was expected to die. One lung was un-inflated. Doctors wanted me to weigh 10 pounds before removing my lung. Nurses slapped my tiny feet to exercise my lungs.

"Nurses laughed because they had never seen such a determined tiny baby," Mom said. "You fought furiously for whatever you wanted."

Spent two months in an incubator. It was the first year the hospital had an incubator. At first, incubators blinded infants with too much oxygen.

At home, sensing my mother's tension, I would not eat. "You closed your lips and looked up at me with big brown eyes," Mom said.

"Sing to her," the doctor said. Mom had a lovely soprano voice. While she rocked me and sang, I finally began drinking the bottle. As an adult, Mom's singing moved me deeply. It brought tears to my eyes.

It took six months to get to 10 pounds. When my mother took me to the hospital for surgery, doctors discovered my lung had spontaneously inflated. "I snatched you up and rushed you home!" Mom said.

Born an ebullient optimist, here I'm six months at 10 lbs. Love the hairstyle.

What are you grateful for?

[time.com]

LiterateHiker 9 Nov 29
Share

Enjoy being online again!

Welcome to the community of good people who base their values on evidence and appreciate civil discourse - the social network you will enjoy.

Create your free account

11 comments

Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.

1

I am thankful for having lived a very pleasant life with good friends, great family and no material needs that allow me to help the less fortunate and dedicate time to leave this earth better than I received it.

1

Giving and receiving praise goes along with gratitude.....

1

What a wonderful story! So glad you made it!!! What a lesson in Gratitude! Thank you for posting!

@think-beyond

Thank you so much. I appreciate you.

1

God you were an ugly baby, no just kidding. Words are not enough for all the things I am grateful for, every minute, every second there is something I am appreciating and you are one of them.

1

Gratitude is powerful. I’m grateful for so much, and for so many others who enrich my existence. Gratitude is a necessary counterbalance to grief, as we lose species, climate stability, and future options.

1

Ok, I'm game, I'll give it a try:
"I am thankful for Donald Trump."

Blecch! Nope, that made me feel MUCH worse. I'm out.

1

My health, the positive people and experiences that are or have been in my life, acceptance and dreams.

3

Gratefulness is good for the soul

6

That certainly is something to be grateful for. I am grateful I am on here with all you wonderful human beings showing love ,compassion ,gratitude plus so much more .

6

I'm grateful for far to many things to list - life, on the whole, is pretty damned awesome - and far to small a % of the people on this planet can say that.

1of5 Level 8 Nov 29, 2019
10

Grateful my daughter is still alive after years of heroin addiction. Grateful my grandkids are doing well and that my younger daughter seems happy with her life. Ince the kiddos are happy I can do somethings to make myself happy 🙂

Write Comment
You can include a link to this post in your posts and comments by including the text q:432555
Agnostic does not evaluate or guarantee the accuracy of any content. Read full disclaimer.