Gratitude and Giving

With an interest in the study of human behavior, I learned that the same area of the brain that controls higher thinking skills, like attention and focus, also controls behavior and emotions. Someone’s ability to process information can therefore have either a positive or a negative behavioral outcome. If we allow negative thoughts to take over our daily routines we can start thinking and behaving negatively by default. Scientists focused much research on gratitude as an emotion that causes synchronized activation in multiple brain areas. Gratitude can boost serotonin and activate the brain stem to produce dopamine. Dopamine is our brain's pleasure chemical, promoting happiness.

With that in mind, what if we take on daily affairs with the consciousness of our ability to take control in keeping our brain in a positive state? What if the more positive thinking we implement in our approach to situations leads us to be more productive, focused, and even more creative by simply making an effort to keep a positive mindset?

Listening to positive affirmations at the beginning of each day, and practicing stillness and meditation help me find my inner balance. There is awareness in gratitude and it changes my perception of the world around me. I experience true joy through gratitude for the countless small wonders in my life, including mine and my loved ones' good health. Families with children in poor health struggle to get to experience gratitude. I feel real satisfaction in being able to donate a portion of my sales to families whose joy is nearly gone and I find gratification in making a small contribution toward restoring their smiles.

I donate to the Perez Scremini MD Foundation in Uruguay where a team of about 130 professionals has combined their efforts to fight pediatric cancer for the last 20-plus years. They have several comprehensive volunteer programs, which are vital to the foundations. Also, 60 percent of all funds needed annually come purely from donations, as the government can only cover 40 percent of the services offered at no cost to the young patients and their families. 

No donation is too small, and together we can all make a difference and have many families smile with joy and gratitude again.