Friday, December 2, 2011

Gratitude

Hello from the time out corner in professor Blastoff's hatch, and thank you for joining me today. Our topic this week is on gratitude, Thanksgiving and Penn State. We also wanted to share a little history on the first Thanksgiving. Which had something to do with King James the first...and clams. But more importantly what does Thanksgiving mean to you!? What are you grateful for?

While you think of all those things, pay attention to your happiness level. Does thinking about all the things you are grateful for make you a happier person? Some neuroscientitsts believe gratitude triggers the happy centers in the brain. In this clip a neuroscientist walks us through one of his daily gratitude rituals. (He gets to it at about the 10:21 mark.)
Here's the clip.
Well, I don't know about you but this clip triggered the depression centers in my brain. Maybe it's my A.D.D., but I once he started talking about all the people he met who didn't have running warm water, or hands, it put me in a funk. I couldn't stop thinking about all the needs in this world, all the arrears, if you will. But then, to get out of my funk, I began to think of all the compassionate people out there trying to fill those needs. And that again triggered the happy center. So, thank you to everyone who donated time, money, food or horses to those in need.
Word of the Day: Arrears



I would like to start my ritual by saying that I am immensely grateful for spell check. Before having it, I did not use words larger than five letters long. Spell check does not, however, help with those nasty homophones. For years homophones were the bane of my existence. I used to write many sentences like this:
I whoosh their was a weigh to Czech four the write home phone in witch too use.
But not anymore! Because I went to college!
I am also very grateful for my wife, Carah, who always has my back and is constantly overlooking my imperfections, while standing in amazement over my dazzling perfections. Like my top row of teeth! Thanks to 3 years of braces, which were paid for by my parents. I am very grateful to my parents for doing a fine job of raising me.

It's easy as a kid to take for granted all things your parents do for you. That's why I will be keeping a flow chart of everything I do for my kids. I will also make them watch this following clip bi-weekly to remind them kitchens don't clean themselves, unless they do in the future. Then I will make them watch this so they can appreciate what life must have been like before robots.
Here's the clip.
This video is shockingly cold to me. I mean why not just shatter all of Tommy's fantasies and tell him Santa Clause is really fat uncle Frank? Again, why not go with a flow chart? Wait till they're old enough to have a fair amount of expendable income and then spring it on em! Guilt them into paying for your 20th anniversary getaway and thank me later.

Finally, David was grateful for speed humps. For those of you who have never seen a road hump, here you go.





Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Check out aaronburrellcomedy.com and professorblastoff.com.

Listen to Professor Blastoff #30 "Gratitude."

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