How To Make Post-Pandemic Delight Last: 30 Days Of Gratitude

ACROSS AMERICA — Americans have spent the last few months rediscovering the simple pleasures of hugging the people they love, getting together in close gatherings and diving back into activities that were off limits during coronavirus lockdowns.

“When pandemic rules began to loosen earlier this year, I felt a small burst of joy each time I did something that had been off-limits for months,” Soumya Karlamangla wrote for The New York Times in September. “With the rollout of the vaccines, once-mundane activities became almost wondrous. …”

But as the daily routines of life became familiar again, Karlamangla found her delight at participating in them fading. It’s human nature, she wrote, because as a species, our quick adaptability to change is a key to our success as a species.

Patch’s 30 Days Of Gratitude is a series of articles exploring the intentionality of gratitude and featuring bits of wisdom from Patch readers. Come back to Across America Patch every day through November and read more.

Can post-lockdown joy persist? To find out, Karlamangla talked to Sonja Lyubomirsky, a psychology professor at the University of California, Riverside. Her advice: practice gratitude.

“One day,” Krlamangla wrote, “stop and appreciate what you’re able to do now that you weren’t last year. You can make a mental note, tell your partner, text your friend or write it down in a journal.”

» For more, read the full story on The New York Times: How To Hold On To Post-Lockdown Joy: Practice Gratitude, via The New York Times

30 Days Of Gratitude: Read More

• Opera Singer ‘Died,’ Lives As Pianist
• Pay It Forward By Volunteering
• GivingTuesday A Chance To Show Gratitude