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Life-giving virtues for 2010 |
| Posted on Jan 06 2010 |
Through the years, university studies have looked at different virtues and how they are related to a person’s health and longevity. Do you know that there are close to one million Americans who are 100 years old? That’s great news for those of us who believe that dying at an early age is now the norm because of processed food, pollution, stress, anything white (flour, rice, sugar, etc.), the list goes on.
Centenarians, or those who live to be a hundred — or more — years old, share the common traits of resilience and optimism. Just like all of us, they have their share of problems, including poverty, hardship, oppression, and loss, but their attitude and coping mechanism saved them from the onslaught and physical damage of distress.
A hefty eighty percent of the centenarian population is women. Researchers say that the support systems of women provide comfort and companionship. Those who survive into old age were able to separate themselves from loss and move on. Dr. John Rowe of the book Successful Aging says that centenarians are “natural stress-shedders, able to shrug off life’s slings and arrows with relative ease.”
And before you even declare that you don’t want to grow old and withered with a debilitating disease, none of the centenarians had a major disease before the age of 80. And no one had to take more than one prescription medicine.
Forgiveness
Indeed, there is a lot of truth to the adage “to err is human, to forgive divine” and it now seems that forgiving promotes life. In a research published in the Journal of Adult Development, The University of Michigan took note not only of the health benefits of forgiveness but also of the variation of its effects based on the age of the forgiver, the willingness to forgive others and oneself, and the feeling of being forgiven by God.
They also concluded that people with forgiving personalities have fewer psychological problems, feel more satisfied with their lives, and are generally healthier than grudge holders. Practicing forgiveness reduces stress and calms your mind and the nervous system. Several studies even link it to reduced cancer, heart disease, stress, and other illnesses. The Campaign for Forgiveness Research found that groups taught forgiveness skills had significant decreases in levels of anxiety and depression, as well as improved self-esteem.
Gratitude
Studies show that the more thankful we are during the holiday season, the better we’ll feel mentally and physically. According to a National Science Foundation-funded study, expressions of thanks can promote health and happiness, but in order to have that good feeling, you need to give thanks more than once a year.
A person with gratitude in his heart chooses to count life’s blessings rather than dwell on troubles and hardships. Robert Emmons, author of the book Thanks! How Practicing Gratitude Can Make You Happier and psychology professor at the
The practice of gratitude nurtures and heals all types of relationship.
Love
“All we need is love” is proving to be true. Tons of research shows the link between love and health, including a longer life, a happier life, fewer visits to the doctor, faster healing, fewer colds, better stress management, natural pain control, less anxiety, lower blood pressure, less depression, and lower substance abuse.
Dr. Harry Reis, co-editor of the Encyclopaedia of Human Relationships, clarified that the love that yields clear health benefits is that which is calmer and stable as opposed to passionate and intense, as in flings. While most of the research focused on marriage, the perks extend to loving relationships with parents, siblings or friends. “The key is to feel connected to other people, feel respected and valued by other people, and feel a sense of belonging,” he says.
Joy & Contentment
It is really difficult to separate joy and contentment because you cannot have one without the other. And while a lot of people defer their happiness until they get a better job, a bigger house, a fancier car, and a whole list of material things, what they miss is that happiness is a choice. It is an attitude that has little to do with what you possess.
In his classic book Love, Medicine and Miracles, Dr. Bernard Siegel believes that self-rejection and loss can lead to a lot of chronic diseases while feelings of exhilaration and joy can produce measurable amounts of neuropeptides identical to interleukin-2, a powerful anti-cancer drug that costs $40,000 per injection. Feelings of peace and tranquillity, on the other hand, have shown to produce a chemical nearly identical to Valium.
He said that research in the 1980s provided revolutionary understanding of the immune system, giving birth to a new era of study called psychoneuroimmunology or PNI. Messenger molecules called neuropeptides carry messages of thoughts, beliefs, and attitudes through the blood and every cell in the body. These originate not only in the brain but also from any organ of the body.
Laughter is truly one good medicine. More than improving mood, laughter enhances immunity and prolongs life.
Faith & Hope
Proverbs 17:22 says, “A merry heart does good like a medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.” Truly all 10 virtues of faith, hope, love, gratitude, forgiveness, joy, contentment, courage, sympathy, and humility are linked together. As we evolve and develop a few of the virtues, we nurture and develop the others naturally.
There is a rich resource of how faith heals the most chronic ailments. I am sure each one of us stands as a witness of how faith and hope transformed lives that were already doomed for failure or death based on earthly standards and mortal knowledge.
Grief, unforgiveness, bitterness, anxiety, discontent, remorse, guilt, distrust, anger, fear, and resentment cause stress. These negative feelings wear down the body and tear down our natural defences, resulting in a weakened immune system and poor health.
Courage, hope, faith, sympathy, love, contentment, forgiveness, joy, humility, and gratitude provide a long life worth living.
We can choose to practice and develop all 10 virtues this 2010!
Last changed: Jan 06 2010 at 4:27 PM
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