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OnThursday,familiesacrossAmericawillparticipateinayearly

ritualaroundtheThanksgivingtable:expressingtheirgratitude.
Somewillbegratefulforfriendsandfamily,othersforhealthor
materialwellbeing,forsafety,thenaturalworldorthemealbefore
them.
Butwhatdoesgratitudelooklikein2015,withThanksgivingcoming
ontheheelsofsignificantlossoflifeinterroristattacksinBeirut,
Parisandbeyond?WithSyrianfamiliesfleeingabloodycivilwar?
Withinternationalnewsthat'sanythingbutreassuring?
Ontheonehand,thesearepowerfulremindersofallwehavetobe
gratefulfor.Manyofustakesafetyandstabilityforgrantedwe
don'tworryaboutwhereournextmealwillcomefromorwhether
ourfamiliescanremainintact.Ontheotherhand,itmightseem
selfishorsmallmindedtofocusonourownindividualblessings,
insignificantaseachofusisinthefaceofsomuchsuffering.Does
anygoodcomefromourgratitude?
Theanswerisprobablyyes:Gratitudecanincreaseempathyand
supportpersonalwellbeing.Butitalsomatterswhatwe'regrateful
for,andtragiceventsmightpushustoexperiencegratitudewitha
widerperspective.
AftertheterroristattacksofSept.11,2001,manyAmericans
reportedashiftintheirvaluesandpriorities.Forinstance,one
studyfoundthatpeopleidentifiedtheircharacterstrengths
differentlyinthetwomonthsfollowingtheattackthaninthe
monthsimmediatelyprior.Theyjudgedthemselvestomorestrongly
possesscharacteristicsthatreflectedhope,kindness,love,

spirituality,leadership,teamworkandgratitude.
AnotherstudyanalyzedThanksgivingessayswrittenbymorethan
300schoolagekidslivingintheMidwestin2000and2001,
straddlingeachsideoftheSept.11attacks.Childrenweremostoften
gratefulfortheirfamiliesandfriends,forhavingtheirbasicneeds
met,andfortheirteachersandschools.A9yearoldgirlwrote:"I
amthankfulformymomanddadbecausetheyhelpmewithmy
homework."
Yet,therewerealsosignificantdifferencesbetween2000and2001.
Aftertheterroristattacks,childrenweresignificantlymorelikelyto
writeessaysexpressinggratitudeforlivingintheUnitedStates,for
Americanvalues(suchasfreedom),forpolice,firefightersandother
helpers,andforotherpeoplethosewhowereneitherfamily,
friendsnorteachers.One6yearoldwrote:"Iamthankfulfor
policemen.Theyhelppeople."
Therewasalsoatrendwherechildrenmentionedgratitudefor
materialobjectslessoftenafterSept.11:In2000,13.8percentof
essaysincludedastatementofgratitudeformaterialobjectsin
2001,only8.2percentdid.
Willweseesimilareffectsinthewakeofthismonth'stragedies,with
shiftsinprioritiesandchangingtargetsofgratitude?
Aswelearntocopeandmoveforward,theThanksgivingholiday
offersanopportunityforreflection.Beyondgratitudeforthenarrow
compassofourownlives,wecantakeastepbacktobethankfulfor

thebroadercircumstancesthatmakethoselivespossible
circumstancesthatrelativelyfewpeopleshare.

TaniaLombrozoisapsychologyprofessorattheUniversityof
California,Berkeley.Shewritesaboutpsychology,cognitive
scienceandphilosophy,withoccasionalforaysintoparentingand
veganism.Youcankeepupwithmoreofwhatsheisthinkingon
Twitter:@TaniaLombrozo

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