Gratituding: A Word in the Making
OK… "gratituding" isn’t officially a word… but it could be any day now. New words are constantly being created. When I was a kid, my parents would always correct us if we used the word "ain’t." They’d jokingly say, “Ain’t ain’t a word!” And, at the time, they were right—it wasn’t in any dictionary. But if you look it up today, there it is, recognized in any dictionary you choose!
One of the most common ways new words come into existence is through a process called verbing. Verbing happens when a noun is transformed into a verb. For example, the word "google" originated as a noun, referring to a company specializing in search engine technology. Over time, it evolved into a verb—to "google" something is now a common phrase.
In the same way, "gratituding" could become a word in the future. It would describe the act of actively expressing gratitude for the good things in life. And at the top of the list for your "gratituding" focus should always be YOUR AMAZING BODY!
Think about it: you eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (or whatever you enjoy), and YOUR AMAZING BODY turns it into liver tissue, eye tissue, and every other kind of tissue it needs. In fact, your body produces 25 million new cells every second!
You drink water, and YOUR AMAZING BODY uses it to regulate your body temperature, eliminate waste products, and lubricate your joints. That’s just a fraction of what it does with water. Since your body is over 60% water, it relies on it for dozens of essential functions—so drink up!
When you sleep, YOUR AMAZING BODY works tirelessly to support healthy brain function, repair cells, restore energy, and refresh itself—all while you’re sound asleep! And this only scratches the surface of what YOUR AMAZING BODY accomplishes every minute of every day. Just your liver alone performs over 500 different jobs!
But these countless functions don’t just happen by magic. It’s not as simple as adding "-ing" to the end of a noun to create a new word. The coordination of every body part requires the constant work of your nervous system. Your brain is perpetually sending messages to every cell, tissue, and organ, organizing and reorganizing to adapt YOUR AMAZING BODY to the ever-changing environment around you.
Stress and Your Body
However, we live in a crazy, mixed-up world filled with physical, chemical, and emotional stresses that bombard us daily. These stresses can decrease the efficiency and awesomeness of YOUR AMAZING BODY. Fortunately, your chiropractor can help!
Your chiropractor looks for misalignments in your spine that disrupt the communication between your brain and the rest of YOUR AMAZING BODY. These disruptions, known as vertebral subluxations, interfere with your body’s natural communication system. With gentle adjustments, your chiropractor helps ensure that your nervous system is functioning optimally, so you can be firing on all cylinders.
Of course, expressing gratitude shouldn’t be limited to Thanksgiving or the month of November. When you think about YOUR AMAZING BODY (and your awesome family chiropractor), you can practice "gratituding" every day, all day!
—By Judy Nutz Campanale, DC, ACP