HuffPost Says Thanks: What We're Grateful For This Year

Thanks.

It's a simple enough word. But once a year, we put aside our differences and hit the pause button on everyday life to reflect on what we're really thankful for.

And, it turns out, counting your blessings has real health benefits. Grateful people "feel more alert, alive, interested, enthusiastic. They also feel more connected to others," said University of California, Davis psychology professor Robert Emmons, author of two books on the science of gratitude, in an Associated Press article this week. "Gratitude also serves as a stress buffer ... Grateful people are less likely to experience envy, anger, resentment, regret and other unpleasant states that produce stress."

That effect extends to adolescents, as well. A study published last year in the Journal of Happiness Studies found that grateful kids had higher GPAs and life satisfaction, and were less envious and depressed than their less-grateful peers

So, in the spirit of gratefulness, we asked staffers at AOL Huffington Post Media Group to share what they're most thankful for. Read on for their thoughts (and some personal photos!) -- then tell us, what will you be giving thanks for this year?

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Comments

[ItWasntMeReally]

03:00 PM on 11/26/2011

I'm grateful for all I have, and I'd be more grateful if misery ended for my fellow Americans.

[50IsTheNew40]

10:09 AM on 11/26/2011

Grateful for all I have: health, family, food on the table, hearth and home. For all of our current significant economic and social unrest, this is without a doubt still the greatest country on earth. Grateful I have lived during such a historic period, from JFK to Steve Jobs. Space travel, strides in health care, computer technology, economic globalization. All of it, good and bad. :)

[Savannah5]

09:11 AM on 11/26/2011

I am grateful for being alive after many years of severe asthma.
I am grateful to have enough money to visit my grandson in Florida.
I am grateful for the many memories of deceased family members.
I am grateful for my dreams of the future, whether they come true or not.
When you lose hope, you lose a big part of yourself.

[John Paul From Austin Tx]

01:57 AM on 11/26/2011

i'm thankful for the occupiers for being out there right now for me. i'm too lazy to do it myself. i need to change.

[gx5000]

03:51 PM on 11/25/2011

My Wife and Family, my job and wealth of friends and all of our continued good health.

[Kellybelle22]

02:55 PM on 11/25/2011

I'm thankful for my wonderful husband and daughter, our grown children, my father and sister, and for having such loving, funny, stable people in my life.

[Star2000dancer]

09:00 PM on 11/25/2011

Love it! I could stay on this thread foreve.

[Billk29]

04:56 AM on 11/25/2011

In no particular order i am thankful for the wine producers of the world,Huffpost that i just discovered a little while ago,torrent sites everywhere,LOTRO,Obama because he is a genuinely good intelligent friendly man and America needed that and that i moved my pension into bonds last month so i won't get crushed in the market for awhile.;-P

[Savage Saint Roger]

11:29 PM on 11/24/2011

I'm very grateful to be an American! Right or wrong, it's still the best place on earth to be!

[susane07]

11:21 PM on 11/24/2011

Copied from Apple.

[LenP]

11:21 PM on 11/24/2011

What is Ariana grateful for? PEOPLE WHO WORK FOR FREE.

[3bunnies]

11:15 PM on 11/24/2011

I am Thankful, Because I have much to be Thankful for.

[Savage Saint Roger]

11:14 PM on 11/24/2011

I'm grateful that all my needs are met! Thank you, Dearest Lord.

[Star2000dancer]

10:43 PM on 11/24/2011

I can't seem to post again. Am leaving.

G'Nite Hpers. Happy Thanksgiving and

Sweet Dreams.

[mebemommee06]

09:39 PM on 11/25/2011

huh.. I see your post..

[Star2000dancer]

07:45 PM on 11/26/2011

How many minutes? I went offline because my post would'nt even let me post. Post comment just stayed there or would roll and roll and roll.

[DesertShores]

10:41 PM on 11/24/2011

Something to be thankful for.
Only in America do people living in the poverty level have:
Indoor plumbing, fresh water, TV's, microwave ovens, refrigerators etc.
And if you are homeless person you still can use McDonald's or WalMart restrooms, homeless shelters, etc.
Members of the “Lucky Gene Club” are thankful they are not picking garbage in Cairo.

[Star2000dancer]

08:45 PM on 11/25/2011

No, our true "poor" have No amenities. A cardboard box in a cold, snowy, ice chilled alley on the cement, alone. Millions of them. There is no "good" poverty, anywhere. There are very few homeless shelters. I met many in Philly.

[nancole]

10:23 PM on 11/24/2011

/Again! Very thankful for OWS and Huffington Post