The Power of Gratitude

By: Red Hot Mamas

Published: September 21, 2025

From the Editor…Karen Giblin- The Power of Gratitude

“Let us be thankful to people who make us happy;

they are the gardeners who make us blossom”

-Marcel Proust (writer)

Dear Red Hot Mamas,

The Power of Gratitude…

Gratitude has numerous benefits and is good for our health. It shows up in the way we look after our physical fitness, our dietary health, lifestyle choices, and as well as in our mental well-being.

Having gratitude in life helps us to generate a sense of completeness and thankfulness for life.

Some benefits of gratitude include:

• Improved and enhanced relationships opening the door to more relationships.
• Better physical health such as lower blood pressure and improved immunity.
• Grateful people sleep better contributing to overall health.
• Improved mental well-being. Gratitude may decrease anxiety and depression leading to improved mood and overall mental health.
• Increased happiness and life satisfaction.

So, what is gratitude? Gratitude is noticing and acknowledging the goodness, positives, and blessings in our lives. It implies humility in understanding that others have contributed to who we are or where we are in our lives – that we are beneficiaries of kindness, goodness, or positivity.

Here are some practical tips and strategies that may help you to become more grateful:

• Keep a gratitude journal and write down things that you are grateful for. Try to list ten things each week to deepen your appreciation.
• Dedicate time to meditate on things that you are grateful for. Be mindful and appreciate the goodness around you.
• Allow ample time to express gratitude to others and thank the people who have positively impacted your life. This will deepen your emotional connections and strengthen your relationships.
• By incorporating these practices into your daily routine, you can foster a more grateful mindset, leading to improved emotional well-being and a more fulfilling life.
• Recognize the good in your life and focus on the positive. By cultivating a positive mindset, you will reduce feelings of dissatisfaction and alleviate the remembrances of past difficulties.

There is a different way of thinking about gratitude as an example let me bring to your attention the example Mother Theresa has set. Mother Theresa had talked about how grateful she was to the people she was helping, the sick and dying in the slums of Calcutta, because they enabled her to grow and deepen her spirituality.

That’s certainly a very different way of thinking about gratitude—gratitude for what we can give as opposed to what we receive. But that can be a very powerful way, I think, of cultivating a sense of gratitude.

Let me finish with a statement from one of the most influential women of our time (Oprah Winfrey) who I was fortunate to have met in person this month. She said “Gratitude is the foundation of happiness. So, if you want to start being happy, get grateful first.”

So, I encourage you all to pause and look around you, take in and enjoy everything that’s good in your life.

Good Health to You All,

Karen Giblin