The best gift is the gift of gratitude

It’s December.  The end of the year is fast approaching.  Here in Australia my family are preparing to celebrate Christmas.  There will be duck cooked on a BBQ on Christmas Day.  There will be swimming in the pool (remember it’s summer down this end of the world) some white wine in the sun, and gifts to share. 

I’ve written before about gift giving across cultures and about celebrations around the world at this time of year.

Last year I wrote about gifts that we have given to organisations supporting education and health in Papua New Guinea.

Our work in Papua New Guinea, with PNG expats coming to Australia, and expats from different countries moving to PNG, has continued this year so we have again made donations to the organisations; Buk Bilong Pikinini and Send Hope Not flowers. 

But the gift I want to focus on this year is the gift of gratitude. 

Gratitude activities, such as listing 3 Good Things that happen each day for a week, have been shown to have a significant impact on reported levels of well-being and depression. Fo those who continued the exercise beyond the suggested 1 week, researchers found the activity increased happiness and decreased symptoms of depression for up to 6 months of follow-up.

Gratitude is powerful. 

So  - I am grateful for the opportunity to work with you, to share ideas and learn from and with you all. 

I am grateful for new clients and opportunities, for new learning and growth. 

I am grateful for good health, for the opportunity to have fun with my family, for new babies in the whanau, and for the continued joy of having my wonderful mother still with us to share things with. 

I am very grateful!