As we adjust to a new normal, lessons in grief and gratitude
Boston Globe - 09/25/2020
Gratefulness also primes us for the future, says David DeSteno, a psychology professor at Northeastern University who studies gratitude. Experiencing gratitude makes us more willing to act virtuously down the line, strengthening our relationships with other people.
“What that means, in terms of COVID-19, is if you feel grateful, it makes you more willing to put on that mask and help other people. It makes you more willing to go onto the computer and help an elderly neighbor who doesn’t know how to order [groceries]. It makes us willing to pay acts of kindness forward to ensure other people will pay it back to us. It strengthens our social ties,” he says.
Gratefulness also primes us for the future, says David DeSteno, a psychology professor at Northeastern University who studies gratitude. Experiencing gratitude makes us more willing to act virtuously down the line, strengthening our relationships with other people.
“What that means, in terms of COVID-19, is if you feel grateful, it makes you more willing to put on that mask and help other people. It makes you more willing to go onto the computer and help an elderly neighbor who doesn’t know how to order [groceries]. It makes us willing to pay acts of kindness forward to ensure other people will pay it back to us. It strengthens our social ties,” he says.
