We begin to be grateful for what is,
and if we live long enough and deep enough
and authentically enough,
gratitude becomes a way of life.
~ Mark Nepo

Choose friends who are joyous people. See these people frequently and you will find your spirits rise. The older you get, the more important it is to make it a priority to spend time with people who bring you joy.

Another way to create more joy in your life is to regularly practice gratitude. Grateful people report higher levels of positive emotions, life satisfaction, vitality, optimism, and lower levels of depression according to Dr. Robert A. Emmons, a researcher and professor at the University of California Davis. He has authored four books on the psychology of gratitude. Dr. Emmons states that the disposition toward gratitude appears to enhance pleasant feeling states more than it diminishes unpleasant emotions. Grateful people do not deny or ignore the difficult aspects of life, but they have a healthy attitude towards them.

Our bodywork therapists at Massage Therapy Center Palo Alto help remove physical and emotional constrictions. This enables the innate healing force to bring forth a more coherent, joyous way of being, both physical and emotional.

illustration from Beastly Verse by JooHee Yoon