'Ingratitude dries up the fountain of all goodness,' - said a French statesman. In reality, sometimes ingratitude can be more dreadful than revenge. That is why it is said that gratitude is the best attitude, because it helps us feel happier and more kind to others. But is gratitude really powerful? Indeed, the importance of attitude is the basis for everything in our lives.

There are well-known studies on the neuroscience of gratitude and its effects on the brain. They found that the ventromedial prefrontal cortex of the brain controls gratitude, which is related to mental health. Gratitude increases dopamine and serotonin, the two crucial neurotransmitters responsible for our emotions in the brain, and improves our mood immediately, giving us positive feelings of pleasure and well-being from the inside. It helps people feel more happy and hopeful, deal nicely with adversity, and build strong relationships.

According to the Huntsman Mental Health Institute, gratitude has psychological (happier), physical (fitter), and social (better) benefits. It's not happiness that brings gratitude; it's gratitude that brings happiness. Gratitude is more than thanking others or ourselves, mother nature, or the Almighty; it acknowledges all living beings in any form and eventually can enlighten the mind and make us feel more content.

Many of us do not try to realise the advantages of a 'Grateful Mindset'. Our mixed (good and bad) technological advancements and too many materialistic senses of overwhelm frequently blind us to life's simple blisses and happiness. Gratitude boosts happiness. It is the spark that ignites a spirit of pleasure in our mind, that spreads to the body.

Happiness cannot be owned naturally, it needs to be developed and earned through the experience of living every day with 'giving, forgiving, and gratitude,'- all of which together can be termed as 'Kindness'.

E-mail: rubaiulmurshed@shomman.org