Rather than being some nebulous idea, gratitude is a powerful aspect of both being and becoming more human. In the USA, we annually celebrate Thanksgiving as a feast with friends and family. On this day, it is customary for us to pause and be thankful. Setting aside a specially recognized national day of gratitude is a great idea; let us daily cultivate gratitude.

An Attitude of Gratitude

The idea of being grateful, of gratitude practiced daily, is one that is central to wellness and health, according to positive psychology. This emergent discipline of the general field of psychology focuses on virtues, strengths, and potentials of human growth and development. As an aspect of personhood, daily practicing gratitude is understood to foster peace of mind, higher quality interpersonal relationships, and a sense of prosperity, even in difficult circumstances.

Personal Application

• Choose to daily practice gratitude. Optimism will emerge and persist, for a better life for all and for the planet.
• Tell someone that you know something about them or something that they do for which you are thankful.
• Say “thank you” to someone whom you do not know for their civility or courtesy.
• Before sleeping, write down three things for which you give gratitude. Read them aloud to yourself.
• When facing a struggle or challenge, bring out your gratitude journal and read it aloud.

Here’s a thought:

Thank the gods for dirty dishes, they have a tale to tell.

While other folks go hungry, we’re eating very well.

With home and hearth and happiness, let’s not complain or fuss.

For by this stack of evidence, life’s very good to us.

May your day and your life be filled with the practice and benefits of gratitude.

@DoctorJames

Much like one’s IQ – intelligence quotient – which sums in a single score one’s intelligence, one’s green or eco-quotient – EcoQ – tells a lot about green living and lifestyles. Given the landslide of information available readily everywhere, much of it can lead one to a sense of despair, as we witness the massive environmental changes in the earth that have been accelerated by the actions of humanity.

In her book, Despair and Personal Power in the Nuclear Age, Joanna Rogers Macy observes that in the face of potential nuclear crisis, we can choose to be paralyzed by a sense of hopeless despair or we can choose to empower ourselves and change our world for the better. The world now having lived under the threat of the “mushroom cloud” for 60 years means that most humans now alive have no idea what it is to not live with the threat of massive catastrophe. Macy’s observation that this simple fact has shaped personal and societal thinking with an imbued and embedded despair is instructive. We must lift ourselves up out of this worldview and fill ourselves with a  powerful hope for the future. The DOR-ways ritual espoused by Dr. James Rouse is an effective tool to cultivate optimism, which in genuine form seems to be scarce today.

A legendary early American, Benjamin Franklin, stated that it was our response to our circumstances that mattered, not the actual circumstances themselves. Franklin’s statement demonstrates a powerful cognitive strategy for supporting and maintaining optimism in the face of needed and often difficult actions one must take to improve society, personal life, the world.

To improve one’s EcoQ, here are three easy action ideas:

1. Think about what you eat. Where is it grown? Is it grown organically or chemically? How far is it transported?
2. Think about the energy that you use. How is this energy created: wind, water, solar, coal, gas, nuclear? How far is it transported? Do you practice energy conservation? Do you use energy conserving devices and lighting?
3. Think about how you travel. Do you commute for work and how far? By what methods do you daily travel: auto, bus, train, bicycle, walking?

Put it Together and a Greener Life Springs Up

As you consider these three dimensions of your EcoQ, allow ideas to emerge and then act to elevate your EcoQ. In this way, we will migrate to a sustainable and smarter EcoQ paradigm. By doing so, we can choose to empower ourselves with hope and optimism, to be grateful for our world, and to seize the opportunities in our challenges to really and truly birth a better world for all of Earth’s creatures.

So, what’s your EcoQ? Where would you like your EcoQ and the rest of us to be?

@DoctorJames