Positive Psychology identifies five character strengths that are most related to happiness:
ZEST | CURIOSITY | HOPE| GRATITUDE | LOVE
“Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” Melody Beattie, author.
It was an incredible journey on the Danube River Cruise this past spring. As a local guide in Nuremberg, Germany regaled us with stories of the Nazi party rallies at Zeppelin Field a chill rippled up my spine. As I heard her narration being delivered in a guarded, neutral voice I was puzzled at first. Then I began to marvel at her mastery of both history and her own emotions. Later, I walked up to her and expressed gratitude for doing a thankless job of keeping history alive so that it is never repeated again. Her eyes lit up visibly as understanding dawned of the acknowledgement. She was moved. It felt good. Expressing gratitude made me feel better. That is the charm of this exquisite character strength. It is both giving and receiving. When a child on the playground first learns to say ‘thank you’ to his playmate for sharing the swing, notice how both faces beam with joy. Gratitude has an uncanny boomerang effect!