Series: Give Thanks
Psalm 97:12 ESV
My early thanksgiving celebrations with family are filled with great memories of going to grandma’s house, playing with cousins, and eating great food. I still remember the wonderful smell of food in the house the minute we stepped inside!
When I was young I was known as being a “picky eater”. I’m not sure why there were (are) some things I liked and others I did not like but eating a portion of everything was a rule at our house. Thankfully I did like Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and green beans. We always had those choices on Thanksgiving.
Psalm 97:12 tells us, “Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous, and give thanks to his holy name!”
I grew up in a home that also had faith traditions. Both of my grandparents were people of faith and especially on Thanksgiving before we sat down to eat we paused and someone said grace before the meal. It was usually my dad who prayed.
That tradition even has roots in the American history of thanksgiving. Even as early as the mid 1500’s. It makes sense really. The settlers who left Europe and other parts of the world to travel by boat in the 15th and 16th Centuries had traveled across an unknown ocean for an unknown period of time to an unknown place. I marvel at their courage and stamina!
The voyage usually took at least two months and the ships they sailed on were not what we consider to be hearty vessels. The Nina and the Pinta were 50 to 70 feet from bow to stern and they carried between 20 and 40 crewmen. The ships that brought settlers were slightly larger between 38 to 100 feet and those carried around 70 passengers to Jamestown. Conditions on board were cramped and (in my mind) uncertain. The people who traveled to the new world would have been taking a great risk when they set sail.
It’s no wonder when they landed they were grateful to find good soil for growing and a good food source from turkey, venison, rabbit, and duck. Giving thanks for finding land, food, and a good water source would have certainly given them a reason to pause and celebrate!
Today we know much more about the physical benefits of giving thanks that the settlers knew nothing about in the 1600’s.
God magnificently created the human brain to produce special chemicals when we are happy, thankful, and laughing.
Dopamine is released in the brain when we exercise, get good sleep, listen to music, spend time with people we love, relax and meditate, and eat good food. Nutritionists now know eating excessive amounts of processed foods should be limited. Trying to minimize chronic stress should be avoided because it lowers the bodies ability to produce dopamine. Specifically dopamine relates to motivation and receiving rewards.
In much the same way, Serotonin affects the brain. Serotonin helps humans to experience happiness, and remain focused and calm.
Serotonin is found in eggs, nuts, salmon, and milk. We can also increase serotonin by spending time in the sun, exercising, and lowering stress levels.
My dog is my serotonin master. I get exercise when I walk my dog. We spend time in the sun. My dog helps me to keep my stress levels lower. I also tell my dog funny stories that make me laugh. I know that seems strange, but he is a good listener. In addition to all of those benefits my dog is my buddy.
Yesterday I found a bag of pumpkin dog biscuits I purchased a while back.
The biscuits are incredibly dense and it turned out my old dog was not a fan of the biscuits. The weird thing is, he does like it when I give him one. I watched him to see why and I discovered that he hides them. He buries them behind things or under things.
So, being the trickster I am the other day we played a game. He would bury a biscuit and I would find it.
He would bury it somewhere else and I would search for it. Once I found it he would look at me (like, really?) and he would hide it again. I intentionally did not watch him bury it.
This went on for several hours. Of course I don’t know exactly what my dog was thinking but I figure it was good exercise for him and it made me laugh.
That my friends, is a win win.
My final thoughts about serotonin, dopamine, pets and stress levels is that sometimes even the smallest silliest things can bring joy and increase our dopamine and serotonin levels.
It’s not difficult.
It does give joy.
It’s the part of life that God created for us to experience daily!
Ultimately, while there are actual physical benefits to being thankful that we can practice daily, in our busy society we don’t always have or take time to be thankful. Having a special day and having memories from special days gone by remind us of the benefits of being thankful.
So, be intentional about being cheerful and thankful. Seriously, when was the last time you looked forward to visiting someone who complained about everything?
BE thankful!
Spiritual Practice: Thankfulness
Find something every day to be thankful about and practice thankfulness daily.
In God, Deborah
Comments