Giving: The key to long-life and prosperity

I'm off to have lunch soon with my friend Regina , but first wanted to share with you an article she emailed me yesterday from the Christian Science Monitor. For it is now a proven fact, "researchers say giving leads to a healthier, happier life."

This according CSM and Dr. Stephen Post, who has recently written a book titled, Why Good Things Happen to Good People. For the past five years, he has been funding research projects that test how altruism, compassion and giving affect people's lives and well-being. As head of the Institute for Research on Unlimited Love (you gotta "love" that name) at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, he has sponsored more than 50 studies by scientists from 54 major universities.

His studies have clearly demonstrated that love and caring expressed in doing good for others lead people to have healthier, happier, and even longer lives. According to Dr. Post, "Giving is the most potent force on the planet (it) will protect you your whole life."

Having a hard time cultivating an attitude of gratitude in your life? It's not easy surrounded in a world populated by Eeyores. One practice is to start a gratitude journal. Another is to start paying attention the synchronicitic elements of your life. You know, when details start to line up without the effort of you or others. There as many opinions as to why this happens as there are bloggers, but finding the cause isn't the point. What is important is that you simply say "thank you." With these two simple words we begin to acknowledge that we aren't on this mortal coil alone. Don't know about you, but knowing that makes my life a lot easier.