Daily Cascade

On Gratitude

Prompt: Gratitude
Is gratitude is important for our well-being and do you think gratitude could relate to love? If so, in what ways?

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Surely, gratitude is important for our emotional health. It deepens our relationships and enriches our general well-being. And that's only the start.

If this weren't true, why several of my friends and I would be keeping gratitude journals! We write in our journals every night because, this way, what we are given or rather what we were generously granted during the day takes its proper place in the forefront of our minds. As the result, we are more appreciative of our days here on earth and we can face the storms and difficulties with much better acceptance and understanding.

Also, through acceptance and appreciation, we value others' actions, words, and existence. This means we can easily build emotional bridges with others and understand and appreciate their problems and joys. Especially when people support us in difficult times, their understanding ties us together even more.

Then, the comfort of feeling of being understood, at least sometimes, gives rise to love. I mean not only romantic love but all kinds of love.

This is because love opens our hearts a lot more to noticing gestures, actions, and friendly approaches that, otherwise, we might have taken for granted. Even those small sweet incidents like our children's laughter, a partner's understanding and small thoughtful acts, and a friend's note on the Messenger or their voice over the phone sends more joy and happiness to us. Alternately, those feelings of love make expressions of gratitude more heartfelt and genuine, creating a cycle of giving and receiving that strengthens emotional ties.

Referring back to gratitude journaling, here, taking the time to write all those much valued, small prizes from others reinforces our belief in ourselves and in our part in humanity. It ties us strongly to others, even if the journal is for our own eyes, only.

To cultivate love and gratitude together, in addition to mindful appreciation, such as a gratitude journal, we can choose to express our thankfulness by telling others what we appreciate about them, and also, we can focus on positivity in all our relationships by celebrating strengths and overlooking minor flaws.

Gratitude and love, when embraced together, are not in words only. While words also show our gratitude, even the smallest acts of love may speak louder than words .