The Village Chronicles Podcast

Cultivating a Heart of Gratitude for Better Health and Happiness

• Together We Thrive

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Have you ever found yourself chuckling over a self-deprecating high five or beaming with pride over the simplest act of kindness? Join us, as we share laughs, personal stories, and the undeniable truth that the practice of gratitude can revolutionize your life. Today on the Village Chronicles podcast, we peel back the layers of this often overlooked virtue, revealing how it's the bedrock of our family ethos and community bonds. As your hosts, we promise an episode that's not just a feel-good ride but a journey into the transformative effects of saying... "Thank You."

Woven into our candid conversation are nuggets of wisdom validated by science. We discuss how nurturing a grateful heart can lead to better health, more joy, and a magnetic pull of positive vibes around you. Whether it's swapping rage for a wave in traffic or discovering the power of a written note, we'll guide you through the practical steps to cultivating thankfulness. Join us for an uplifting blend of humility, humor, and actionable advice, make sure to tune in and let gratitude be the guest that changes your perspective. Go Niners, and remember, every little 'thank you' counts!

Keith:

Welcome back to another episode of the Village Chronicles podcast. I'm your host, Keith Harvel, and by my side, my number one, me Vida, my pride and joy, the apricot jam to my peanut butter, my wifey, Silvia Harvel. Welcome, beautiful, thank you. Thank you, you know, today we're going to dive into a topic which is dear to our hearts. To us, it's the cornerstone to who we are and what our family represents, how we interact with one another within and outside of our community. Today's topic is a big one, y'all.

Silvia:

Gratitude.

Keith:

You know, gratitude is one of those acts that we know we're supposed to do but don't do, or don't do enough of. I ain't that right, Right. So I think of gratitude as an expression. You know, it's something deep inside us that I feel we were designed to share. It's good for us and those we share it with. Now we're going to dive into the science behind it in a minute and present some ways you can impact your day to day life for yourself, your family and your community. Silvia, you ready to spread some gratitude vibes?

Silvia:

Yes, I am.

Keith:

Okay, let's do this Now. Look at it like this you know, either people are grateful on a regular basis or they are not, you know, unless it's Thanksgiving, their birthday, Christmas or some circumstance where they received an unexpected gift. Right, Right, you know, the most common response to receiving a gift is what? Thank you. Yeah, you know, that's customary response to receiving something. I mean, you don't want to receive a gift and look somebody up and down and be like, yeah, you better have to give me that and then make sure it's blue next time. You know my favorite color. What? Yeah, you know, and we get it.

Keith:

You know you may be having a bad day, a bad month or bad year. We've all been there, you know. Life is hard, right, Right, you know. But guess what? It's probably going to get a little harder at times, but we believe life can be easier in most circumstances when we begin to program our thoughts to have a more grateful spirit and that person cuts you off in traffic. Next time, Just wave, Just wave and give him a thumbs up. Hey, he may even wave back.

Silvia:

Right, and when you lack gratitude, you're really never thankful for anything. This can cause an array of feelings such as loneliness and patience, depression and so on. It's really a sad place to be. One must work on changing that behavior by implementing some habits for expressing what you're thankful for looking for the good things in life and really appreciating them Complimenting someone, writing a note to your friends and family or sharing a positive post. Gratitude is simple in context when we think about it. Practicing it daily is a whole other story.

Keith:

So true, it's the application that most of us struggle with. Gratitude is like turkey at Thanksgiving Sometimes you overcook it and it's a little dry, but when you dig in you realize it's the star of the show. Thank goodness for that gravy right Try. Turkey is the worst, but I'm grateful for the meal, grateful for the cook, grateful for the company that's in there and grateful for football.

Silvia:

Go Niners.

Keith:

Let's go Niners. High five. I'll buy myself on that one. That's for show.

Silvia:

And showing genuine gratitude will change your life for the better. You'll be happier, you will attract positive people and things, less stress, better sleep, less anxiety and, most importantly, you will begin having joy in your life.

Keith:

That's right Now. Showing gratitude for what we have and what we receive regularly does take practice. We really want to turn this into a habit with our thought processes. Once this happens, there are some incredible life-changing benefits. Let me read this segment real quick from this article from UC Davis Health on gratitude is good medicine. A growing body of research is confirming that an ounce of gratitude is worth a pound of cure. I like that. Let me read that again A growing body of research is confirming that an ounce of gratitude is worth a pound of cure. The practice of gratitude can have dramatic and lasting effects on a person's life, said Robert A Emmons. He's a professor of psychology at UC Davis and leading scientific expert on the science of gratitude.

Keith:

Now he's quoted, it can lower blood pressure, improve immune function and facilitate more efficient sleep. Gratitude reduces lifetime risk for depression, anxiety and substance abuse disorders and, as a key, is a key resiliency factor in prevention of suicide. Wow, practicing gratitude also affects behavior. Studies have shown that grateful people engage in more exercise, have better dietary behaviors, are less likely to smoke and abuse alcohol and have higher rates of medication adherence Factors that translate into a healthier, happier life. Who wouldn't want to do this? Come on now. Now, these are some crazy numbers. Check this out. So he goes on to say that keeping a grateful diary for two weeks produce sustained reduction in perceived stress, like 28%, and depression 16%. And healthcare practitioners, gratitude is related to 23% lower levels of stress hormones. Practicing gratitude led to a 7% reduction in biomarkers of inflammation in patients with congestive heart failure. Now, this is crazy, right here. Two gratitude, two gratitude activities like counting blessings and gratitude letter writing reduce the risk in at risk patients by 41% over a six month period. Wow, wow. Dietary fat intake reduced by as much as 25% when people are keeping a gratitude journal. A gratitude practice can decelerate the effects of neurodegeneration I can't even say that's a big word as measured by a 9% increase in verbal fluency that occurs with increasing age. I mean this is crazy Grateful people have 16% lower dystolic blood pressure and 10% lower systolic blood pressure compared to those less grateful. I mean, there's a whole lot of things going on here, line after line after line, of the impact that just having a grateful heart and expressing gratitude can do for your body, your mind and your spirit. And it makes me think of during COVID.

Keith:

During COVID, here in California, we were on lockdown. I kept working. You know, I worked from home as it was, so I was able to continue that, but I really wanted to, you know, narrow down on how I could work on myself. You know the gyms were closed, everything was closed, you know. So I was like. You know, I'm really focused on my mind, my body, my spirit.

Keith:

So I'm a read more the exercise more, you know, and I'm gonna work on my faith, you know, and one of those acts of faith that I wanted to work on was just being more grateful. You know, I felt like I. You know I pray over my food and you know I say thank you, but I just felt I could do more, you know. So I don't know which book it was I was reading, but I decided to start just writing each day three things that I was grateful for. So I started that off, doing them on sticky notes, and then I started doing it in a little binder that I had. I mean, then actually, sylvia had saw it and she found something on Amazon for me to utilize, find a little little booklet, so I start using that. I decided to make one for myself because it was just missing things that I wanted on it. So I created my own gratitude journal and.

Keith:

I've been using it ever since you know and Figured out how to self publish it. And you can find it on Amazon. Just go to Keith Harvelle gratitude journal and you'll see it on there for 699 so. But it's been a godsend. You know, my family uses it, friends use it and it's very helpful and we're seeing how Our gratitude practices impact in our life. Now I didn't know all that science that was behind it, but I can tell you just in my day to day walk it just seems like I do feel better, I'm happier, less stressed all from that gratitude journal. So just one of those aspects that can really help.

Keith:

So, you know, sylvia and I, what we did. We came up with a list of ways that we could do that we can incorporate a culture of gratitude in our homes, jobs and community. Sylvia, why don't you go ahead and kick us off with that list we were talking about?

Silvia:

Definitely well. Encouraging people to practice more gratitude involves creating a positive and supportive environment. Here are five ways you can inspire gratitude within your community. One you can have it gratitude challenges. Launch gratitude challenges within your community. Encourage individuals to share one thing that they're grateful for each day or week. You can use social media platforms or create a community bulletin board for these expressions of gratitude.

Keith:

Wow, that's a great idea. I know some people do that on social media already. But I think you know, like here in our community where we live, we're a pretty tight community. We have our own Facebook page for the, just the general community, but things like that you know, you may have, just you know, I think we've got like 70 households in our community just start a little gratitude practice post and something for the, for everybody, your neighbors, to share with you know, I think that's a great idea you also can do. The second one says a community gratitude events. You know you can organize events that celebrate and promote gratitude. This could include gratitude theme workshops, community gatherings where people share their gratitude stories and experiences.

Silvia:

That's right. Number three is gratitude journals. Distribute gratitude journals to members of the community. Encourage them to write down three things that they're grateful for each day. This practice helps individuals reflect on the positive aspects of their lives.

Keith:

That's right, like we. Like I spoke of a little bit earlier here. Yeah, it's important to write things down, guys, and to share that practice with others, or reread them, that's right, and reread them later.

Keith:

That's the fun part when you can just go back and look at some of the stuff that you wrote down a year ago, two years ago, kind of gives you perspective of where you were and where you are now. It can have a really, really good impact on you. The fourth one is you know which is pretty creative. You know you can create a gratitude wall and a central location within your community center. So if you have a community center, you know, boys and Girls Club, ymca or some type of community center where you can provide like sticky notes or a chalkboard for community members to write down what they are thankful for, it serves as a visual reminder of collective gratitude within the community.

Silvia:

That's real important.

Keith:

It just gives somebody. You know people see that and they make it a practice. You know it's something that they share with their community and their family. I think it's something that's nice to work with with each other.

Silvia:

And people look forward to looking at that too. I'd be walking down looking like did he write my name? Number five would be integrate gratitude and celebrations. Incorporate gratitude rituals within two community celebrations, like festivals or gatherings, whether it's a gratitude circle before a big event or expressing thanks during community feast. Infuse gratitude into communal activities and we believe by implementing these practices you can create a culture of gratitude within your community which can foster a positive and appreciative community spirit.

Keith:

Yeah, that's good stuff. Good stuff, you know. As we wrap this up, we just want to thank you for tuning in today. You didn't have to, but you did, and hopefully we're able to share some of this, these grateful vibes, with you. But we encourage you to share this podcast with friends, families, neighbors, co-workers and just anybody that you feel could benefit from it. You know, our mission is pretty simple we want to make a positive impact, not just in our family, but to yours as well. We are very, very grateful for you.

Silvia:

Yes, we are we. Thank you so much. We appreciate you being part of our village.

Keith:

Until next time, remember together we thrive. Let's get it.