6 Reasons We Need to Celebrate Soon—and Often!
Celebrate? With all that’s going on in the nation—the world? Add to that the challenges in your life and you may be thinking that’s the last thing you’ll be doing now, or anytime soon. Let me encourage you to think again. Now, of all times, we need to celebrate wherever and whenever possible.
In their book, Why Good Things Happen to Good People, authors Stephen Post and Julie Neimark tell us that celebration is one of the most important ways that we express gratitude. Celebration is gratitude in action, and celebration—like rest, seat belts, and green leafy vegetables—is good for us!
Celebration creates joy
Feeling down in the dumps? Celebrate someone or something—anything! The gratitude you feel as a result of celebrating others, or creation in general, will help you to be less materialistic and therefore more easily satisfied with what life brings your way. It’s a fact that gratitude actually creates joy within our souls.
Celebration is good for your health
The gratitude that wells up from the act of celebration has been studied scientifically for its health benefit. The results prove that gratitude is strongly linked to emotional and physical health. Just five minutes of gratitude can shift the nervous system toward a calmer state.
Celebration creates a circle of love
When we rejoice in the presence and accomplishments of others, they feel uplifted. Research has shown that acts of gratitude encourage those around us, creating a circle of reciprocal love.
Celebrating moves us from fear to faith
Studies show that the most grateful people have often been through difficult and challenging experiences. Individuals who have overcome adversity are more optimistic and grateful than the average person. Recounting the ways God has protected and guided us in the past strengthens our faith for the future.
Celebration shifts us from tired to inspired
Reminding ourselves of just how good life is and all the blessings we enjoy cultivates gratitude. Research shows that emotions work at lightning speed and often bypass reasoning. By cultivating gratitude, we encourage positive feelings that are almost instantaneous—feelings that are more powerful in their own way, than even positive thoughts.
Celebration heals
According to a study on organ donations cited in Post and Neimark’s book, the more gratitude a recipient of an organ expresses, the faster that person’s recovery. There were 74 transplant recipients of either a heart, liver, lung, kidney or pancreas who participated in the study. Those recipients who expressed gratitude—directly, or indirectly by journaling—felt physically better and functioned at a higher level than those who did not.
Soon and often
Looking at the calendar, it’s easy to see natural reasons to celebrate—Easter, Valentine’s Day, Ground Hogs Day!, Independence Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Year’s. So pull out all the stops. Celebrate! But don’t let your celebrations end there. Look for every reason imaginable to celebrate: the first day of spring, last day of autumn, the first snowfall, the shortest day of the year, a child’s progress report, the 100th day of the school year, birthdays, anniversaries, significant milestones, important events.
As you look at life through eyes of gratitude, you will discover many reasons to celebrate—no matter what’s going on in the world. Never miss an opportunity to celebrate.
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Great article, Mary! Hubby and I recently celebrated, with my daughter and son-in-law, paying off the mortgage in December 2020. Due to COVID restrictions, we postponed the celebration until March 2022. I treated all four of us to admission to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park and a 1-1/2 hour safari through the African and Asian savanna habitats. My daughter and son-in-law treated us to lunch overlooking the animals roaming free in the savannas. It was such a beautiful, fun day that we were able to celebrate together as a family. Precious! Another name for a celebration is “making memories”, something I taught my daughter as she was growing up.
What a great thing to celebrate … No More Mortgage! Congratulations! I’ve been on that safari and it is so amazing to feel in every way that you really are in Africa! Just beautiful and the animals!!
Dear Mary,
Just wanted to let you know that your EC message of today really inspired and prompted me to be more of a person of celebration from now on. Also, I love the fact that you include Scripture verses in your columns from time to time. May God bless you and your family richly during this Easter season and always!
Thanks for sharing, Marsha! Regardless of what’s going on around us, in every situation we have much for which to be grateful. God bless you!
This past January my roommate, Rose, and I held a dinner in our home to celebrate that we had been living together for 30 years. We invited family and other people who had been an important part of our lives; there were 16 folks at the table. Before dinner Rose spoke about how she and I had shared many ups and downs, unemployment, illnesses, wonderful vacations, and serving our Lord together at our church in various ways and capacities. Our friend, Stan, said the blessing, both for the food and for our continued friendship, and we enjoyed a beautiful evening together in celebration of life!
Lovely and awesome, Maryann
Thanks for your uplifting articles. There are many. My husband and I will be celebrating our 50th Anniversary on Valentines Day next month.
you are so right. I believe it is also important to keep a gratitude journal, every night, list 3 things in your life you ate truly grateful for. I had a really rough year in 2019, serious injuries in a car accident that also made me a widow, death of two wonderful dogs, months of rehab. it was tough, unable to work, on extremely limited income, I was able to focus on healing body and soul, be grateful for each small gain, I learned how blessed I was by my friends and my kids. focusing on gratitude can get you through.
Blessings to you dear Beth, so sorry for your losses, yet so warmed and uplifted by your attitude of gratitude, thank you for sharing and uplifting all of us!
Mary,
Thank you so much for your inspiring message I receive each day, it is a true blessing to me as well as many others. I think each and everyone of us need to count our blessings, not our problems. We have so much to be thankful for each and everyday, you are truly one of our blessings, thank you for just being you.
Just wanted to let you know how grateful I am for all your good advice! Been a fan of yours since I received the newsletter Cheapskate Monthly! I only read your email and one other one. You are that IMPORTANT!
Thanks and blessings in 2020!
Happy New Year to you, Mary. I totally agree with the concept of celebrating and being grateful and just wanted to take this moment to celebrate the fact that I’ve been following your newsletter and now your blog for over 20 years. Your advice has been such a positive life changer for our family and I thank God for having found you so many years ago on Focus on the Family. THANK YOU and we love you and wish you a wonderful year full of many many blessings!
Wonderful article!