Tis the Season and the end of the year and it’s time to reflect and count our blessings. We all have much to be thankful for and taking the time to find goodness in our lives can actually remarkably nourish our bodies and spirits. Taking time to focus on gratitude for our blessings can translate into greater happiness and a more positive outlook on life so it seems. I just came across an interesting study by Robert Emmons and Michael McCullough that I would like to share with you. It illustrates this point very well.

These two health-psychology college professors divided hundreds of their students into several groups. They asked each group to focus on and even journal weekly. One group was asked to write down what they were grateful for, another to scribe about their hassles and irritants and another to simply describe events and circumstances in a neutral way. I bet you can guess what the outcome was. The results showed that the grateful group scored significantly higher in terms of feeling positive about their lives in both the short and the long term. They also reported that surprisingly they were spending substantially more time exercising. Then they repeated the study asking students to journal daily about their lives and an even more significant effect was found. Participants additionally reported significantly more sleep and felt that they started their day feeling more rested and refreshed.* Well then! Apparently counting blessings is good for you in many very meaningful ways. For better wellbeing we should stop and reflect not just every now and then or weekly but each and every day.

So in the spirit of the Season, I would like to take a moment to be thankful. At Salty’s we have the blessings of the seas and so much more. Of course we are appreciative of all the fishermen who supply us with their catch. We are grateful for the farmers who harvest us their bounty. We have fabulous vendors who bring us all that we need to take care of all our necessities. Walk in our doors and you will meet our spectacular hard-working wonderful team. They are all great people who care about our guests and treat them with the utmost spirit of service. We are blessed by beautiful natural waterfront views that dazzle us daily.

Beyond all that and at the very top of our list we are grateful for our guests. At this moment we all want to say thank you to each and every one of you. YOU are our blessing.

*Emmons, R., & McCullough, M. (2003). “Counting blessings versus burdens: An experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective well being in daily life.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84 (2), 377-389 DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.84.2.377.