.

Our sense of gratitude strongly drives our well-being.

This, according (even) to Wikipedia, which (in the equivalent of 260 feet of shelf space) philosophically shares only this one point with Dr. D.  There y'go amig-O.  If Pete Carroll and Jim Harbaugh ever do agree on anything, but do then agree on that one thing with gusto and party hats, I think I'll tune in to what that one thing turns out to be.  :- )

According to Wiki, a person with higher levels of gratitude / thankfulness / gratefulness is simply happier.  She is less stressed and less depressed than a "complainer."  Grateful people also have "higher levels of control of their environments."  They have more personal growth, are more open-minded, accept themselves as they are better, and have a sense of mission.

Thankful people are more positive in coping with problems - less likely to blame and deflect, more likely to seek support and tackle the problem with whole-heartedness and energy.  This is a recent discovery, folks.  Last century, psychology was Dr. D's college major and he can testify that it has only been in this century that psychologists (reluctantly) began probing this type of territory.  That is:  "POSITIVE" territory.  But now it is agreed:  "While many personality traits are important to well-being, gratitude may be uniquely important."

Speaking from a psych standpoint, in the last 30 years, America has been triangulating the question of how to be happier.

.....

Dr. Daniel Amen is at the cutting edge of brain scans conducted under directed thought and meditation.  He reduces his advice* to "the 60-second miracle":  each day, write down some things you are thankful for.  Then pick one or two and reflect back on it throughout the day.  Months later, our brains will scan as healthier.

This is some serious shtick :- )

I've got to admit, the Dalai Lama is one of the most cheerful people I've ever "seen."  Buddhist monks are scanned by Dr. Amen and theirs present as models of healthy brains.  They spend their lives focusing their thoughts on constructive things -- actually overdoing it, it says here -- and the physical brain of an advanced monk is like the physical bicep of Elliott Hulse.  Thought changes our brains physically.  They call it "Neural Plasticity."

It's in us to be happy.  That is, um, a pleasant thought. Have two kindsa pie today, dude.  Tomorrow, it's back to the lap pool, and that kind of day can be pleasant too.

.....

Gratitude journals, without the slightest overstatement, are among the most powerful tools at our disposal.  

Way back when, "reality therapist" Dr. Karl Meninger took severely mentally ill people and "forced" them to sit at a desk, "no matter how painful they claimed it was for them" he told us, and write down three good things that happened to them that day - even if it was only "the sun came out for a little while" or "Karen called me."  

Within two weeks of being forced to focus on nice things, they were functioning -- drastically better.  There is no prescription drug that does this for patients.  If there were, imagine what it would sell for.  It costs us $1.29, the price of a spiral notebook.

.....

My own experience is, the first thing is harder to write down than the next 25 things.  The dam breaks, the ideas proliferate like Dr. D's typing about Dustin Ackley and --- > voila.  You realize that we are, not wish that we were, "daily loaded with blessings," as a different literary source ;- ) put it.  And we have problems, but it hits us we can solve them ...

Gratitude has three core components.  The dictionary says it is "a warmly or deeply felt appreciation of benefits received."  To appreciate is to "be fully conscious of, to detect, to value highly."  So a thankful attitude REQUIRES:

• A whole-hearted feeling
• A recognition of the full value of the benefit (cf. imagine life if the opposite were true)
• Something you got from, somebody*

You sitting for 120 seconds and thinking warmly about Mojician or Diderot or MoeDawg does not benefit THEM.  It benefits YOU.  Get it? Got it.  "Good."  :- )

.......

MLBTradeRumors confirms that the Starry-Scrubby M's are trying to grab at least one of these five specific hitters:

• Matt Kemp
• Justin Upton
• Nelson Cruz
• Yoenis Cespdes
•  ... :: drumroll :: Evan Gattis

For my part, I'm wondering if they'll do that and also do a second important thing; a big TV payroll isn't going to be filled with just one move.   Right?  hmmm ...

........

I dunno if it works (as well) to type a mini-journal entry.  I doubt it.  But hey.  When was Dr. D ever capable of economy of motion?  he can only admire it from afar, from the third deck, on Happy Iwakuma Days.  Those days are yet another kind of pleasant.

1.  It's an especially Happy Thanksgiving with the Seahawks on.

2.  The more so vs. the 49'ers.  That, for me, is a historic rivalry, capable of eliciting huge emotion.  I feel "alive" during a 49'er game.

3.  The more so with absolutely everything I want to eat.  And don't think that ain't a metric ton.

4.  The more so doing it with loved ones.

5.  The more so doing it (over the course of time) with virtual friends on SSI who are fun to be with.

6.  The more so doing it with virtual friends on SSI who educate me about, and invigorate, my favorite hobby.  SSI denizens are the water in the desert, the sap in the tree.

7.  The ability to sleep in until whenever I want, and to do absolutely nothing all day.  Actually, to do absolutely everything all day.

8.  The admins at SSI, who keep this platform up for us, free, so we're free to shtick around.

9.  The fact that the Mariners are negotiating for players like Kemp and Upton.  Isn't it weird how a sports trade can emotionally feel like Christmas?

10.  One personal thing, so's you know it's okay to chime in on either level:  I'm thankful for a weirdly favorable recovery from a serious health problem this last year, and for Grumpy's help in making it happen, and for my co-workers' absolute graciousness about it, and the ability to run stairs and get an exercise flush.  Okay, that's three or four things.  As you know, we live to serve ... turkey, of course.

Actually Cindy and I are going with a KFC-style chicken picnic during the 49'er game, potato salad, baked beans, or anything else we feel like putting on the table.

That's 10 things just quickly there.  If you choose to add something of your own below, I'll be thankful for each one of those also.  If the Think Tank matched contributions and we got to 20, Dr. D would throw it .... a free entry in his journal.  Absolutely no extra charge.  

Maybe Mojician will throw in his favorite lawyer joke or something.  Or maybe Moe will tell us what it feels like to own a golf swing that millions have spent their lives wishing for.  Or maybe Grumpy will tell us just exactly what it feels like, to run a med center and preside over the saving of human lives.  Or maybe one of you guys will comment in some other SSI thread.  Any of it would be awesome.

Way cool 2014 there amigos,

Jeff