Tag Archives: children

A Deep Gratitude Soak

In an earlier post (Your Choice: Gratitude Zero, Gratitude Lite, or Gratitude Ultra) I ended by suggesting we were going to take a “deep gratitude soak” into the depths of the spectrum of gratitude waters. So I went to dreamstime.com to search for open source photos of “soaking in water”. At that site I found beautiful photos of people soaking in pools, in tubs, in the ocean, lakes, and so forth. I also found animals soaking in the waters or the sun, as well as people soaking their hands or feet, and soaking vegetables before cooking, or putting Easter eggs in water to color the eggs. Some of the photos were so unique that I place them within this post for your review and enjoyment.

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Pets Give Us Joy

I always say that whenever people decided to domesticate dogs from the wolf, it was a brilliant idea! People say that “dog” is “God” spelled backwards and I believe it. Dogs are such good companions to us, our children, to the elderly, to persons in prison, individuals who are ill or are physically challenged. Pets, in general, offer such a wonderful addition to our lives, and contribute to us in many different ways.

I found it interesting to learn that approximately 76% of all households own a pet in comparison to 28% of households (married and single-parent) have children, or 85 million have pets and 35 million have children. In 2017, one (1) billion dollars was spent on private health insurance for pets. Trends in pet dogs is the expansion of the family to include dogs within our everyday activities, routines, and lifestyles.

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Empathy and Gratitude – How?

Yesterday was a beautiful day, full of sunshine, so I went to the ocean. The sunset was lovely, families were on the beach, and all seemed well. When I returned home, I flipped on the TV and watched the terrible news about the freezing crisis in Texas, the power outages, the burst water pipes, and I felt awful watching those suffering families.

I wonder how can I feel two emotions, gratitude and empathy, in a matter of moments? Is it ok to feel blessed by the weather near my home while feeling horror watching the weather just a few States away? The suffering of the children in Texas is difficult to watch against the joy of the children on the beaches in California.

Najma Khorrami, in Psychology Today, described how empathy and gratitude are linked to each other through an explanation of neuroscience.

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