Those who count their blessings and express their gratitude to others enjoy better health and happiness, according to a study whose results were released recently.

Although scholars have long believed that gratitude can have positive health benefits, those beliefs were supported by the recent study by researchers at Northeastern University who found that being thankful might actually help people feel better. There's a catch, of course, according to the researchers: You have to say thanks more than once a year.

"If you don't do it regularly you're not going to get the benefits," Sonja Lyubomirsky, a psychology professor at the University of California, Riverside, told The Associated Press. "It's kind of like if you went to the gym once a year. What would be the good of that?"

The Northeastern University study, funded by the National Science Foundation, required participants to perform a difficult data entry task only to have it lost by a computer glitch. Then a lab assistant participants believe is not part of the study, who claims to be in a hurry himself, comes to their assistance and recovers their lost work.

After one of the participants is dismissed, he bumps into the lab assistant who helped to save the project, who now asks for his help. Northeastern University psychologist Dr, David DeSteno found that those who had been helped by the assistant, and were grateful for it, were more likely to return the favor, and did so for a longer period than those in a group not helped.

It isn't a concept that's all that foreign to most people. Some people call it a tit for a tat. Others simply say it's a case of one good deed deserving another. Still others explain it as simply spreading positive energy.

The researchers pretty much say the same thing.

“Gratitude leads people to act in virtuous or more selfless ways," said DeSteno, whose research was published earlier this year in the journal Current Directions in Psychological Science. "And it builds social support, which we know is tied to both physical and psychological well-being."

Robert Emmons, a psychology professor at the University of California, Davis, told The Associated Press that those who offer gratitude are less envious and resentful of others. They also sleep longer, exercise more and report a drop in blood pressure, said Emmons, who wrote Thanks! How Practicing Gratitude Can Make You Happier.

Brenda Shoshanna, a New York psychologist, echoed those sentiments.

“You can't be depressed and grateful at the same time," said Shoshanna, the author of 365 Ways to Give Thanks: One for Every Day of the Year. "It makes a person physically, mentally, in every way healthier."

 With that in mind, I would like to share some of the things I am most grateful for:

• I  am thankful that I am people-rich - I am forever grateful for the people that the Creator has placed in my life. I am especially grateful for the friends I have known since childhood, and others who have enriched my life. When it comes to having the kind of friends that feel more like family than mere acquaintances or buddies, I hit the jackpot. It is a constant source of joy and comfort to know that I have friends that I can call on day or night when I am in need. Of course, the most important aspect of a lasting friendship is knowing how to be a good friend. That includes walking a mile in the shoes of others and loving others as you love yourself. As the Bible reminds us in Proverbs 17:17, "A friend loves at all times and a brother is born for adversity."

While I may not possess material wealth, I am rich beyond belief because of the people in my life. When I consider that some of those I know who have the financial wherewithal to buy anything their heart desires but are still not happy or at peace, I know that I am blessed and divinely favored. I wouldn't trade places with those poor souls who have wealth and other material possessions at their disposal but don't know what it feels like to have someone spend time with them, share things with them or show them that they love them simply because of who they are and not what they can give them.

• I am thankful for my mother - While I lost my father at the age of 16, I am eternally grateful that I still have my mother and that she is one of my best friends and staunchest supporters. The friendship we now share blossomed when I became an adult and learned to appreciate the fact that she knew that I needed a mother and not a friend when I was growing up.

Now that she has raised me and taught me to be a God-loving, self-respecting man who strives to treat others well, we can now focus on our friendship and encouraging one another. Very few people can make me laugh as hard as my mother does and even fewer can calm me down when I am angered by something or someone. I am inspired by her love of life and the enthusiasm with which she roots for the New Orleans Saints.

I am constantly amazed at her capacity to love and forgive and know that she is the closest thing I will ever experience to God's love on earth. I am also amazed at her strength, courage and tenacity. While others claim to be believers of various faiths, my mother is someone who is a living, breathing testament to the infinite love, grace and benevolence of God.

• I am grateful for my God-given abilities - I am grateful to the Creator for blessing me with the gift of the written word. While I work hard to hone my craft and am inspired by many people, the Creator is the source and the aim of my writings.

Writers often say that while writing an essay or article is not always an easy or pleasant task, it is always a joy to have written something of lasting value and significance. When I look back at some of the things I have written over the years, I am moved and know that it had to be the Creator moving through me that allowed me to share my thoughts and observations in a way that hopefully strikes a chord with others and inspires them to also pursue their God-given gifts.

Each of us has a light within us and it is our divine mission to let that light shine for all of humanity to see.

• I am grateful for all the people I have met since becoming editor of The Louisiana Weekly. As a writer and editor, I have crossed paths with people that I know I may not have otherwise met in a dozen lifetimes. Many have expressed gratitude for things I have written, not knowing that they have inspired me and continue to inspire me more than I could ever hope to inspire them.

Some of them were artists and luminaries I have interviewed like South African guitarist/vocalist Jonathan Butler, the late Dr. John Henrik Clarke, the late Alex Haley, Yusef Komunyakaa and Ernest Gaines, while others were everyday people whose faith, courage and resilience have allowed them to overcome the kind of adversity that some of us can't even imagine.

There's a blessing in every lesson I have learned from each of them and I am thankful for having met them.

For all of the above, I am constantly grateful and will make a conscious effort to show that gratitude every day.

What are you grateful for?

This article was originally published in the November 30, 2009 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper