Is gratitude the answer to everything?

Sometimes I feel like I’m reading the same article over and over again. I’m sure you know the one – it’s written by an expert and gives advice on how to solve one of the many health problems we all face. It doesn’t seem to matter whether it’s guidance on how to live longer, protect your heart, keep your brain alert, improve your mental health, cure diabetes, ward off dementia or prevent ingrown toenails, the answer is always the same. I’ve read it so many times by now that I could write it myself: eat a healthy diet, take regular exercise, get enough sleep, challenge your brain and maintain social contacts. It’s what mothers have been telling their children since the dawn of time. But it doesn’t seem to have worked, does it?

Even though our mothers endlessly told us to eat our greens, stop lolling about on the sofa reading comics, go outside and get some fresh air, turn off the television and go to bed right now because tomorrow’s a school day, it doesn’t seem to have made any difference ; otherwise, we wouldn’t need all that expert advice. A new piece of advice has recently been added to the list – the importance of gratitude and keeping a gratitude journal. I don’t think gratitude journals featured much in my childhood, although we were told to eat what was in front of us and be grateful, no matter if the veggies had been boiled into submission and the meat cooked until it begged for mercy.

Some families said grace before each meal, but it didn’t feature in our house. I think my family regarded such activities as bordering on religious extremism, but saying grace is definitely a form of gratitude. The only prayer I can recall from my childhood (I know, such a godless upbringing) was the Lord’s Prayer, which we said every morning at school, but I don’t think we understood much of it. We suspected that ‘hallowed’ might have something to do with ghosts and ghouls; that ‘thy kingdom come’ possibly featured Henry VIII or King Arthur; and that trespasses involved naughty children sneaking into places they had no right to be. No gratitude to be found there, but it was an interesting start to the day.

The reason I’m thinking about gratitude at all is because as our country slowly opens up, we are all truly grateful as every simple pleasure returns – meeting friends and family, actually going into shops, eating in restaurants and maybe even going on holiday. I don’t know how long our feelings of gratitude will last, we’re a fickle bunch, but I hope it’s quite a long time because it makes you appreciate things so much more. Being world-weary is never much fun. I am optimistic though because I still feel enormously grateful that I no longer have to eat those awful stuffed lamb hearts that my mother insisted on cooking from time to time, anticipating the trend for nose-to-tail cooking by many decades. Maybe I did learn gratitude as a child after all.